


Summer's Place

by DazzleYourMindsEye



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adam is a dick, Bartender/Bar Owner Yang, Blake is pregnant, F/F, Flirting, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Ilia is a good friend, Implied Sexual Content, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, Pregnancy, Rating May Change, Ruby is a little shit, Unplanned Pregnancy, Weiss is suffering, Yang is a bit of a heartbreaker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22444201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DazzleYourMindsEye/pseuds/DazzleYourMindsEye
Summary: After a bad break up and an unplanned pregnancy, Blake Belladonna is in desperate need of a fresh start. Luckily, she may have just found one in the last place she expected.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 250
Kudos: 725





	1. Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my second ever fic! This one has been in the back of my mind for a while now and I'm ready to try and show it to the world! Thanks everyone for your incredible support and encouragement!

The paper crinkled under Blake’s tense grip and she nervously smoothed out the creases against her jeans. She slouched back into her seat and glanced back out the car window at the same red sign she’d been staring at for nearly 45 minutes. That cheery red sign with the big white letters almost burned into her retinas.

 _Help_ Wanted

She’d spotted the sign while out with Ilia the other day and asked her about it.

_“Oh yeah, that place has been there a while, I think. I’ve been a few times, kinda small but I swear they’ve got the best burgers in Vale.”_

Ilia had encouraged Blake to apply and even drove her to the library to print out her resume. 

_“And they’re faunus friendly!” she’d exclaimed. “This’ll be great to help you get back on your feet!”_

_She just wants to get rid of you_. A familiar voice whispered in the back of Blake’s mind. _You’ve been living on her couch for weeks now just moping. You’re so pathetic and annoying._

Blake shook her head a little as if to dislodge the sinister thoughts slithering through her mind. Her pointed black ears pinned back against her hair. _No. No more of that. I’m free of him, and that’s what matters. But I also can’t keep living on Ilia’s couch forever. Especially now, with..._ Blake’s hand drifted to her lower stomach, slipping under her t-shirt to cradle the small barely-there swell. She still had a few weeks before she started to show, and she knew by then it would be even harder to find a job. No one would want to hire a pregnant faunus.

 _Come on, where’s that confidence? You once led an entire student body in a protest back in school remember? You can be brave and go apply for a damn job._ Feeling a new rush of confidence Blake straightened up and squared her shoulders. She pulled in one last deep breath and checked her reflection in the rear-view mirror. She gave the steering wheel one last decisive pat and hopped out of Ilia’s truck, striding across the street with as much confidence as she could muster. Pausing briefly to glance up at the name scrawled in an elegant script beside a stylized rose above the entrance.

_Summer’s Place._

The door chimed cheerily as it swung open, knocking against a small bell on the frame. As Blake’s eyes quickly adjusted to the light she took in the smallish establishment. The place was a bit bigger than it had initially looked from the outside, longer than it was wide. The bar stretched along the left wall, shelves lined with a dizzying array of assorted alcohols and mixers. The right wall was lined with booths padded with deep red cushions and smaller round tables scattered in the space between. Towards the back she could see a sitting area with a lit fireplace, driving away the chill of early autumn. Overall the place had a warm and welcoming vibe, everything paneled with dark polished wood. It smelled clean and well cared for, a far cry from other bars she’d been to.

On a Saturday afternoon Blake hadn’t expected it to be busy. But the bar appeared to be completely empty. She frowned and glanced back at the hours painted on the door. No, she got it right.

Her ears suddenly picked up the sound of low muttering and clinking of glasses coming from the direction of the bar, and she cleared her throat. “Hello?”

A hand shot up from behind the bar, holding up one finger. “I’ll be with you in a moment!”

The clinking and muttering continued for another few seconds before the person finally stood up, and Blake’s jaw dropped. The first thing she noticed was a mass of curly blonde hair, barely restrained back into a ponytail. The second thing she noticed was how unfair it was that bartenders could be that **pretty**. Bright lavender eyes (a rare color, Blake couldn’t help but think) set into a heart shaped face with a few golden wisps escaping from their hair tie prison to curl around her ears. The woman was about Blake’s own age and was wearing a black tank top (that only seemed to highlight her broad muscular shoulders) with a red rose logo above the left breast, the same one as above the door. The woman flashed Blake a bright smile, and she couldn’t help but notice how it seemed to emphasize the smattering of light freckles on her cheeks. “Hey there! Welcome to Summer’s Place. What can I do for ya?”

It took Blake slightly too long for the words to register in her stunned brain, but they finally did and she gave herself a little mental shake. She swallowed against her sudden dry throat. “Uh, yes. I saw your ‘help wanted’ sign outside...”

The woman blinked and glanced over at the window, then brightened. “Oh! Right! I honestly forgot I put that up. Things have been kind of crazy here.” She leaned over the bar and offered her hand. “I’m Yang.”

“Blake.” Blake took the offered hand in a firm shake, and just now noticed the large elaborate tattoo of a serpent-like golden dragon stretching from Yang's right shoulder to her wrist.

“Nice to meet you, Blake. Do you have restaurant or bar experience?”

“I worked as a waitress all through school.”

Yang smiled brightly. “Oh awesome, that’s what we’re looking for. Business has really taken off ever since we got that food critic review a few weeks ago, and we could really use the help.”

Blake handed Yang her resume and she took it, reading with interest. She gestured with her hand. “Come with me, and we can talk.”

Yang led her through a side door to a small office, where another woman sat hunched over a stack of papers. “Hey, Weiss. Do you think you could watch the front for a few?”

The pale haired woman looked up, pushing a pair of glasses up her nose. Blake noticed a pale scar bisected one of her eyes, before she nodded and stood. The other woman, Weiss, passed by Blake without looking at her or speaking.

After the door closed Yang maneuvered herself to take the now vacated seat behind the desk. “Sorry about that, Weiss is friendly I promise.” She gestured to the small chair Blake hadn’t noticed. “Please have a seat.”

Blake sat down and looked around the small office. The shelves were stacked high with boxes stuffed with papers, various dates scribbled on them in marker. The desk held a few loose papers and folders, with an older style computer on one end.

“So, Blake.” Yang said, setting the resume down on the desk. “Are you new in town? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”

“Sort of.” Blake fidgeted in her seat. “I’m from Menagerie originally, but I’ve been living in Vale for about 5 years. I just… didn’t get out much.”

“Ah. Well, Blake, tell me a little bit about why you decided to apply here.” Yang turned to the ancient computer monitor and began typing as she talked.

“Well, I...” Blake twisted her hands together in her lap and fought the sudden fluttering of nerves in her belly. “I had a change in my living situation recently and I really need a job to help with bills.”

Yang looked up from the computer and tilted her head with an amused twist to her mouth. “Well, I appreciate your honesty, that’s a good enough reason as any.”

Yang’s fingers continued to click away at the keyboard “I see your experience in waitressing here on your resume. Wow, you did it for a while. Did you like it?”

“Yeah I did. I really enjoyed it.”

“Why did you quit?”

An unpleasant feeling curled in Blake’s stomach. She glanced down at her knees. Yang looked away from the screen and her eyebrows knitted together. “Oh, uh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean..”

“No no, it’s okay. I just...” Blake pulled in a breath. “I just had a lot going on in my personal life at the time. It just didn’t work out.”

Yang nodded and gave her a look of sympathy that made Blake tense a little. She didn’t need sympathy.

“Yeah, yeah I get that. Well, Blake tell you what. I’ll talk this over with my partner and give you a call by Monday. Does that work for you?”

“Really?” Blake couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. Yang nodded again and gave her another bright friendly smile. “Really. I can’t promise anything but just off the bat I think you’d be a good fit here.”

Blake jumped out of her seat and took Yang’s hand, shaking it vigorously. “Oh thank you! You don’t know what this means to me!” Yang laughed and let Blake shake her hand. “No, thank you. You’re a lifesaver. We really do need the help!”

Blake grinned back, feeling the lightest she’d felt in weeks. No, months.

Yang’s smile morphed into a smirk. “Can I have my hand back now?”

The sudden sharp realization that she was still shaking Yang’s hand and grinning like an idiot brought a fierce blush to Blake’s cheeks and she dropped the hand like it was on fire.

“Hey it’s fine, don’t be embarrassed.” Yang pulled open the door and gestured. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

The found the pale haired woman behind the bar washing glasses. In the time they’d been in the office a few patrons had entered and settled into the various booths and tables, quietly chatting. She gave them both an unimpressed look.

“Don’t mind the ice queen.” Yang said under her breath. “She really is nicer than she looks.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Blake whispered back.

Yang walked her to the front of the bar and held it open. “Well, I have your number. We’re closed tomorrow but I’ll definitely call you by Monday with a decision okay?”

“Okay. Thank you again. So much.”

“Hey, it’s no problem at all. It was really nice meeting you.”

“You too.” The two women stood in the doorway grinning at each other. Blake found herself noticing all the different shades of lilac the autumn sunlight brought out in Yang’s eyes.

Yang cleared her throat and Blake spotted a light reddish tint to her cheeks, but it was probably just the chilly breeze. “Well, uh, I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah.”

Neither of them made any move. Until the sudden calling of Yang’s name from inside the bar made them both jump.

“Okay I’ll be right there!” Yang shouted over her shoulder, and she turned back to Blake. “Sorry, duty calls.”

“Oh yeah, I don’t want to keep you from your job. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, tomorrow.” Yang gave her one last smile and a small wave before she finally closed the door, the bell above the door frame jingling. Blake slowly walked back to the truck and slid into the cabin before she let out a breath, her cheeks puffing out. She spotted her flushed face in the mirror and couldn’t help but laugh.

* * *

Yang watched the reddish truck pull away from the curb and disappear down the street, still feeling the heat dissipating from her face. _I’ll see you around? What kind of line was that?_

“Ahem.”

Yang jumped and whipped around to see Weiss standing only a few feet away. Yang dramatically clutched her heart. “By the gods, woman, I need to put a bell on you!”

Weiss scowled and flicked Yang in the face with the small cleaning cloth in her pocket. “And I need to put a leash on you! What was that?”

Yang side stepped the shorter girl and walked toward her bar. “What was what?”

“You know perfectly well what I’m talking about Xiao Long.”

Yang stepped behind the bar and poured herself a glass of water. The few patrons that did come in were regulars, and she nodded greetings at them. “No, I don’t.”

Weiss huffed and stuffed the cloth back in her pocket. “We’re never going to hire someone if you keep scaring them off with your flirting. Did this one run out like a Grimm was on her tail too?”

“No.” Yang said a little too forcefully. “And the last girl didn’t ‘run out’ she was just late to an appointment.”

“Uh huh. Sure.” Weiss rolled her eyes. “You know you’ve got a reputation around town. Just… cool it alright? Keep it on your pants for once.”

Yang held up both hands and attempted an innocent smile. “Hey, I’m good, I’m good.”

Weiss squinted suspiciously, but she seemed to have been convinced for now. Weiss nodded. “Okay, well I need to get back to the office. You’re good out here?”

“Yep. Go ahead. Should be an easy shift.” Yang watched Weiss walk back to the office and close the door, then turned back to the bar and picked up an glass to wash. She blew out a breath through her nose. Weiss is right, she shouldn’t be trying to flirt with potential employees.

Even if they are beautiful.


	2. Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Sorry this chapter took a little while, real life and the beast known as writers block just kept me back! That was one heck of a volume finale wasn't it?  
> Thank you all so much for your feedback and kudos! You guys keep me going!

_The sound of shattering glass._

_The sharp sting of an open palm striking her across the face._

_A disgusted scoff. “You bitch! Gods you’re so clumsy.”_

_The pain of broken glass digging into her knees as his hand grabbed her by the back of her neck and forced her down to the floor._

_The image of cruel blue eyes blurring through her tears..._

“Blake?”

The familiar brown carpet faded into clean white linoleum, the broken pieces of the empty mug scattered at her feet. Blake looked up to meet Ilia’s concerned gaze from the kitchen doorway. Panic rolled in Blake’s belly and she bent over frantically to pick up the broken mug. “I’m sorry I’m sorry! I’ll clean it! I’m sorry!”

“Whoa whoa, Blake, calm down!” Ilia joined her on the floor and gently grasped her wrists, holding Blake’s shaking hands still. “It’s alright, it was just an accident. Breathe, in and out remember? In and out...”

Blake sucked in a shaky breathe through her mouth. _1... 2...3... breathe… 1... 2... 3... breathe…_

The pounding in her chest slowed. _I’m not there anymore, I’m here. In Ilia’s kitchen. Safe._

“You’re bleeding.” Ilia’s voice seemed to remind Blake of the cut on her thumb, and it gave an angry throb. Blake flinched, looking down at her hand. Mildly surprised as the amount of blood.

“I have a broom and dust pan for picking up sharp pieces.” Ilia said gently. “I’ll show you where I keep it for next time.”

Ilia tugged Blake to her feet and led her over to the sink. Blake numbly watched the blood swirl in a spiral down the drain. An all-to-familiar sight.

“Just hold it under the sink okay? I’ll go grab my first aid kit.”

Blake hummed and watched the water run red. The adrenaline was almost gone, leaving behind a strange empty feeling. Gods she was so tired.

“Okay, here. Put pressure on this and come sit down.” Ilia pressed a soft cloth into Blake’s palm and led her over to the small kitchen table, pushing down gently on her shoulders into a chair. Ilia lifted the cloth away and examined the cut. “Not too bad, it doesn’t look deep. I’m just going to clean it and put on a bandage. Is that okay?”

Blake slowly nodded. Ilia patted her forearm and began to rummage through her first aid kit. “This might sting a little...”

Ilia pressed a cloth soaked in antiseptic to Blake’s hand, and the sting made her hiss. “Okay, okay it’s over. It’s done.” Ilia continued to speak in a low soothing voice, like she was speaking to a frightened animal. Which, Blake supposed, she kind of was.

“This was a bad one, wasn’t it? You really zoned out there.” Ilia said, keeping her tone low.

“Yeah.”

Ilia slowly began to wrap Blake’s hand in gauze. “You okay?”

Blake finally looked up and met Ilia’s concerned grey-blue eyes. She sighed. “I will be.”

Ilia searched her eyes and seemed to find what she was looking for, and she gave a nod. “He really did a number on you, didn’t he?”

Blake flinched. “Ilia...”

Ilia frowned, but she changed the subject. “I’m going to go make us some tea and you can tell me how your interview went.”

Blake raised an eyebrow. “You hate tea.”

“Well, maybe your obsession finally rubbed off on me.” Ilia shot over her shoulder as she stood and walked over to the cupboard. Blake couldn’t help the small smile that crept over her face. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Listening to Ilia’s low muttering and the sound of the faucet turning on. Those familiar sounds helped the anxiety fade and the dull throbbing on her hand lessen. Blake wasn’t sure how much time passed, but she eventually heard Ilia make her way to the table and set a tea cup in front of her. The familiar smell of jasmine filled her nose and Blake sighed. She wrapped her hands around the cup and let the warmth sink into her skin and sooth the throb of the cut.

“So.” Ilia sat down across from her with her own cup. “How did your interview go?”

Blake took a sip from her cup. “I think it went well. They said they’d call me by Monday.”

Ilia gave a decisive nod. “Good. I think this will be good for you. You know? Get you out of the apartment. I know I would have gone stir crazy by now.”

Blake sighed. “Thanks for letting me stay here, Ilia. I know you don’t have a lot of space...”

Ilia held up her hand. “Hey it’s okay. I really don’t mind. That’s what friends are for right? It can get kind of lonely anyway.” She took a sip from her own cup and instantly made a face. “Though I still don’t even know how you drink this stuff.”

Blake let out a small laugh. “It’s better than all that coffee you drink every day.”

Ilia dramatically put a hand on her chest. “Hey don’t insult my bean water, okay? That stuff is addicting.”

“Well the first step is admitting it.”

“Keep that up and I might not make that spaghetti with the sauce you like so much tonight.” Ilia stood from the table and dumped her cup in the sink.

Blake gave a dramatic gasp. “You wouldn’t...”

“And risk the ire of a pregnant woman? No I wouldn’t.” Ilia washed the cup out in the sink and set it down on the drying rack beside the sink.

When Blake didn’t respond, she looked back at her friend who was now staring down at her lap. Ilia sucked in a breath. “Crap. I did it again didn’t I?”

“No no. It just… hasn’t really sunk in yet.” Blake’s hand drifted to her stomach almost subconsciously.

Ilia’s voice softened. “You have your first appointment soon right?”

Blake propped her head on her other arm. “Yeah. At the end of the month.”

“Are you sure you don’t need me to come with you? I still have time to request that day off...”

“You’ve done so much for me already. I can’t ask you to miss a day of work for me too. I’ll be fine.”

Ilia looked a little skeptical, but she nodded. “Alright. I can drop you off at the clinic in the morning.”

“My appointment isn’t until the afternoon and I can just get a taxi or something. Really.”

Ilia frowned, but she recognized Blake’s stubbornness when she saw it. “Okay, okay fine. At least call me if you have any trouble. And let me know what it’s going to be, okay? I’m still saying boy.”

Blake gave a little roll of her eyes. “And I’m still saying it’s too early to know right now.”

“Well as soon as you know.”

Blake chuckled into her tea. “You’ve got a bet going or something?”

“Oh yeah. We’ve got a huge betting pool going down at work right now. I’ve got 50 lien on the line.”

At Blake’s suddenly stricken look Ilia held up both hands in a surrender gesture. “I’m just kidding! I haven’t told anyone! I promise!”

Blake blew out a breath and put her head in her hands. After a pause, she heard Ilia’s footsteps moving closer, then a gentle hand on her forearm. “I’m sorry, that was a bad joke.”

Blake shook her head. “No no. It’s fine. I just… I don’t know. I don’t want… _him_ … to hear about it.”

Ilia squeezed her forearm. “Yeah. I get it.”

Blake raised her head and looked Ilia in the eye. She gave a shaky smile. “I’m okay.”

Ilia patted her arm and rose, taking Blake’s empty tea cup with her. “I’m heading to the grocery store later to pick up a few things, do you want anything?” Blake hummed a negative and picked at a scab on her knee.

* * *

Later that night, with her stomach full of Ilia’s spaghetti and tucked in her blankets on the couch, Blake lay awake. Watching the shadows grow and warp with the occasional light from a passing car. Her hand crept down under her shirt to touch the skin on her lower belly. She felt a sudden swell of fierce protectiveness, the same feeling that drove her to flee from that house and from her child’s father in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes on her back.

 _No one is ever going to hurt you,_ Blake thought, trying to push her thoughts directly down to that little barely noticeable bump.

_I promise._


	3. Expecting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here it is! Chapter 3 fought me every step of the way and I'm still not totally happy with it, but I got it out! Originally it was going to be twice as long but then I realized that wouldn't work, so I split it into two. I am participating in the Bumbleby Big Bang, a huge collab between artists and writers on Tumblr, so if you are interested in signing up I really hope you do! Because of the Big Bang chapter 4 might take a bit of a backseat, but I promise it won't take as long as chapter 3! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy out there! I'm grateful to each and every one of you for supporting me and my stories!

Sunday dawned cold and dreary. The sky hidden behind thick gray clouds like a soft blanket and coating the city in a misty haze. The kind of mist that chills down to the bones and lingers long after retreating indoors. Blake stood by the window, a quilt wrapped around her shoulders as she watched Ilia’s distinctive red truck disappear down the street. She sighed and squeezed her tea cup tighter, willing the warmth to sink into her skin.

She took a sip and glanced down at her brand new scroll on the counter top. She had been keeping it close all morning, anxiety making her stomach uneasy.

_What if they don’t call? What if you don’t get the job? You’ll just disappoint everyone again…_

Blake frowned and moved away from the window, taking her scroll with her into the living room and sitting down on the couch. She switched on the tv to a random channel to try and calm her racing thoughts.

Unwittingly, her eyes strayed to the plain brown paper bag sitting innocently on the floor beside the coffee table. Blake’s eyes flickered between it and whatever mindless talk show was playing on the screen. She pulled in a slow breath and leaned down to pull the bag towards her, the paper crinkling under her hands. She reached in and pulled out the glossy brand new book and set it down carefully in her lap like it might spring to life at any moment and bite her.

_What To Expect When You’re Expecting_

The book had been a well-intended gift from Ilia a few days after Blake had first moved in, but Blake had yet to muster up the courage to actually look at it. Or even acknowledge it.

Because that would mean this was actually happening.

Her grip tightened on the book and she blew out a breath, having not realized that she was holding it in.

A sudden, loud ringing sound pierced through the air, shattering the tension. Blake jumped and let out a yelp, dropping the book on the floor with a thud.

Her hands automatically started to jerk up toward her face, her heart pounding a million miles a second. But reality quickly returned and Blake dropped her hands into her lap, shaking.

Her scroll vibrated on the couch cushion beside her, an unknown number flashing across the screen. The obnoxious ringtone grated on Blake’s ears and she grimaced as she picked it up. _I’ve got to change that_ she thought as she clicked accept and held it up to her ear. “Hello?”

“Hello, Blake?”

Every nerve suddenly perked up as she sharply remembered why she was waiting by her scroll to begin with. “Yang?”

“Yup. How are you doing?”

“Good good, I’m just...” Blake glanced down at the book she’d dropped, now splayed out pages down on the floor. “Just relaxing.”

“Good good. Well I have good news! I talked things over with my partner and we want to give you a shot!”

“Really?!” Blake’s voice came out squeakier than intended. Yang laughed.

“Yes really. We’re closed today but we open in the evening tomorrow. Can you come in around 4? We can go over how everything works.”

“Sure! Sure, I can do that. Tomorrow at 4?”

“Yup. Make sure you wear comfy shoes alright?”

“Alright. I’ll see you then?”

“See you then!”

The line went dead, and Blake sat for a second simply absorbing what just happened. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and she felt lighter than she had in years. A sudden burst of joy had her pumping her fist in the air.

_Maybe everything **will** be alright. _

* * *

For the second time that week Blake found herself standing outside the bar, looking up at that lit up stylized rose above the door. Except the cold gray clouds had finally broken into a light rain, and she peered past the edge of her borrowed umbrella.

Ilia waved at her from her truck window. “Call me when your shift is done okay? Good luck!"

Blake waved back, smiling as she tried to hide her nerves. As she watched Ilia’s truck drive away the nerves got worse. She turned back to the door and took a deep breath. A glance down at her scroll showed the time as 4:05 PM. She squared her shoulders. And pulled the door handle.

It opened easily, with the same cheerful ding of the bell above the door frame. She pulled the door shut behind her and the sign reading closed swung on its hook.

“Hello?” Blake called out. The bar appeared totally empty. But the lights were on, and she could hear what sounded like muffled music coming from towards the back. She followed the sound and found a door with a small plaque reading ‘Kitchen’. Blake tentatively pushed the door open. “Hello?”

Standing with her back to the door was a young woman, dancing and singing loudly (and slightly off key) to the unfamiliar rock song blaring from the speakers on a nearby shelf. Blake could see that she had short dark hair that bounced as she moved to the music.

From where she was standing Blake could see that the girl had various vegetables strewn across the counter top and she was chopping and slicing with a speed that made Blake nervous.

“Hello?” Blake struggled to raise her voice above the music, but it looked like it was enough. The girl turned, startled, but her face broke into a wide grin when she saw Blake in the doorway. She bounded over to the speakers and turned off the music before turning back to Blake.

“Hi there! You must be Blake!” The girl peeled off a pair of gloves and took Blake’s hand in both of hers and shook it enthusiastically. “Yang told me all about you!”

The girl was still shaking Blake’s hand, and Blake was vaguely alarmed.

“I’m Ruby, Yang’s sister and co-owner of this fine establishment! Yang’s in the back! Come with me!”

All of this was said at a rapid-fire pace, and Blake nearly took a small step backwards. “Umm...”

Ruby grabbed her wrist and tugged her out of the kitchen, missing Blake’s flinch. Ruby pulled her out the room and across to another door, which Blake recognized as the same one leading to the back office where she had her interview. Ruby pounded her fist on the door and shouted - making Blake wince - “Yang! That pretty girl you won’t stop talking about is here!”

The door flew open and Yang stood in the doorway, cheeks flushed. “Th-thanks Ruby. I’ll take it from here.”

Ruby grinned, and Blake noticed it had a bit of a cheeky edge to it. She _winked_ and bounced away back towards the kitchen and Blake turned to Yang with an eyebrow raised.

Yang rubbed the back of her neck, cheeks still flushed. “Um, sorry about that. I swear she’s not on anything, she’s just… like that.”

“That pretty girl?” said Blake, tilting her head.

Yang’s flush got worse and she looked away. “Well, I -”

“Yang.” Feeling oddly bold, Blake placed her hand on Yang’s forearm gently. “It’s fine. I’m teasing.”

Yang glanced down and her eyes widened.

Blake removed her hand and curled it into a fist. Yang looked back up at her and opened her mouth, but a sharp cough cut them off. Weiss stood in the office doorway, frowning suspiciously at them. “Well?”

Yang straightened and coughed. “Right.” She straightened her shoulders. “Come on, Blake. Let me show ya around.”

Blake felt her own cheeks warm, though she didn’t quite know why.


	4. New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright here's chapter 4 everyone! This one is probably my favorite chapter so far, and a long one haha 
> 
> Super special thanks to @thecarlonethatalsowrites for beta-ing this chapter for me! You rock!
> 
> Hope everyone is staying safe and sane out there, and as always thanks for reading!

“Okay so.”

Yang made a grand gesture around the room, spreading her arms out wide. “This is the main dining area.”

“We have the booths and the tables, which are numbered. The booths are one through six and the tables are seven through fifteen. Then the fireplace table. Pretty easy right?”

Yang pointed out each one as she went. “So you’re primarily going to be working the booths and the tables. People seat themselves, and some like to sit at the bar. You don’t have to worry about those, I’ll be taking their orders.”

Yang took Blake to a screen just inside the bar, with a cash drawer beneath it. “So this is where you’ll be putting in orders and running tabs. The bar has its own register on the other end, so this one is all yours.”

Yang quickly ran through the system, pointing out how it worked. Blake noted that it was very similar to the one she worked before back in school. She interjected with a question occasionally, but mostly stayed quiet.

“You already met Ruby and Weiss. Weiss mostly handles the books and our finances, but she’ll come out and help us cover the floor if we need her, so don’t hesitate to ask if you need help.”

Blake quirked an eyebrow. Yang gave her a bit of a sheepish smile and said, “I swear she’s great, just a bit prickly at first. I mean, she is dating my sister.”

“Really?”

“Yep. They’ve been dating for 4 years, believe it or not.” Yang shrugged, leaning on the bar. “She’ll grow on ya.”

“Ruby’s our cook and in charge of the kitchen, and all food orders you put in here will go straight to her.” Yang continued. “Ruby’s my business partner. We bought the space and started this place up after – after some personal hardship.” Yang’s smile faltered for a second then brightened back up, like a brief cloud passing in front of the sun. “I run the front of house and I’m technically your manager, so if you run into trouble you come straight to me. Our regulars are pretty chill, but we’ve had some trouble makers in the past.”

“Trouble makers?”

“Oh yeah. When we first opened this was kind of a rough area and some people thought they could push me and Rubes around.”

Yang crossed her arms, emphasizing the muscles in her shoulders and biceps. “I put a stop to that pretty fast. But some people still think they can come in here and mess around.”

Yang’s face turned serious. “So if someone is being a nuisance or if you ever feel uncomfortable, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Weiss or I can take over. This may be a business but in the end my top priority is the safety of my employees.”

But her serious face melted into a grin as she said “Plus I haven’t gotten to throw someone out on their ass in a while, and honestly I kinda miss it.”

Blake’s mouth went dry as her gaze traced the outline of Yang’s crossed arms and the way her tattoo rippled like the serpentine dragon was coming alive. She coughed and averted her eyes.

But not before Yang noticed, and her smile turned a bit smug.

“So. What size shirt do you wear?”

“Huh?” Blake’s gaze snapped to Yang.

“For your uniform?”

“Oh. Um, a small.” _For now,_ a tiny voice in the back of her head unhelpfully interjected. One of Blake’s ears twitched, as if to shake off an irritating fly.

Yang waved for Blake to follow her into the small office, where she pulled down a tub from one of the shelves. “With or without sleeves?”

“Um..with?”

Yang muttered to herself as she flipped through the folded shirts, counting under her breath. “Aha! Here we go!”

Yang pulled the shirt out and presented it with a flourish. The shirt had short sleeves, plain black with the small rose logo on the left breast. She turned it, and the same logo was on the back along with the name of the bar in large print. “Ruby’s the one who designed it. Pretty cool right?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool.” It was, really. The design was elegant, but not too elegant that it was pretentious. “Where does the rose come from?”

“It’s our family name, Rose.” Yang handed over the shirt and closed the tub, the lid clicking into place. “On our mom’s side.”

“She must be proud of the two of you then.”

Yang paused, frozen in the act of placing the tub back in place on the shelf. Her gaze seemed to glaze over, staring at something in the distance.

“Yang?”

Yang seemed to shake herself, blinking rapidly. “Yeah. I think she would be.” she said quietly.

“Oh. _Oh_. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean -”

Yang slid the tub in place with a grunt and waved off Blake’s apology. “It’s okay. It’s been a long time.”

She brushed the dust off her hands casually. “You can get changed in here if you like. Or we’ve got a bathroom if you’d prefer..?”

“No no, in here is fine.”

Yang shrugged and gave her a small smile. Blake thought it looked a bit forced. “Alright. Come on out out when you’re ready.”

Blake opened her mouth, maybe to apologize again or say _something_ , but Yang swept out of the room before she could.

Now standing in the relative quiet of the office with only the faint whir of the ancient computer monitor on the desk, Blake had to fight the urge to kick the desk in frustration. _Stupid, stupid…._

* * *

Yang took a deep breath as she washed her hands in the small bar sink. She hadn’t thought about Summer in a while and wasn’t expecting the flood of memories. That horrible night when the officer knocked on their door, their father shutting down and drinking his pain away, holding Ruby through her nightmares…

_I probably scared Blake when I froze like that_ , she thought, scrubbing her wrists extra thoroughly to get a smudge of grime from the office shelves off her skin. _I’ll apologize when she comes out-_

“You’re shameless.”

Yang didn’t look up at Weiss’s voice, continuing to scrub her palms. “I think we need to clean the office, those shelves are getting really gross.”

“Don’t deflect, Yang. I saw your little _gun show_.”

Yang turned the faucet off and toweled her hands dry. “Dunno what you’re talking about.”

She looked up to see Weiss at the register, counting out the starting amount of lien.

Weiss snorted. “So you’re telling me that you weren’t just flexing for Blake just now, bragging about throwing patrons out on their ass?”

“Aw, come on Weiss. A girl likes a little appreciation every now and then. I worked hard for these arms!”

Weiss looked up from counting, unimpressed.

Yang sighed, and shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, I know. No sleeping with the staff.”

Weiss frowned, her brow furrowing. She closed the register firmly. “Yang, I’m just telling you to be careful. I don’t need to remind you what happened with Neo...”

Yang stiffened and turned away from Weiss, turning her attention to the numerous bottles of liquor on the back shelves with a critical eye. “No. You don’t.”

Weiss went quiet behind her. Yang reached up and picked a bottle at random, pulling a cloth out of her pocket and wiping away imaginary dust.

“Yang.”

She felt Weiss’s cool hand place gently on her shoulder. “I’m just worried. I don’t want to see you go through that again.”

Yang shrugged her hand off and replaced the bottle, turning it so its label was facing out. She turned to Weiss’s concerned expression. “Yeah, I know. But I promise, it’s fine. I’m being careful.”

Weiss stared, the blue of her eyes making Yang feel like she was under an x-ray. Then Weiss appeared to find what she was looking for and she nodded, taking her hand off Yang’s shoulder. “Okay.”

Yang smiled cheekily. “You know, Weiss? It’s on days like this that I actually understand a little of what my sister sees in you.”

Weiss threw a scowl over her shoulder as she walked away. “Don’t push it, Xiao Long.”

Yang chuckled as she heard the door to the office opening and she turned to see Blake adjusting the shirt a little around her waist. “Blake! Looks great, does it fit?”

“Yeah.” Blake mumbled, still tugging at the hem of her shirt, and Yang frowned. The shirt did look a little tight around the waist…

But Blake straightened up and nodded. “I’m ready.”

Yang smiled approvingly. She pulled out a few menus and lay them on the bar top. “Let’s get started.”

* * *

Yang slid a full beer glass across to the young woman on the other side of the bar with a wink. “Don’t know how you can drink this stuff, Nebula, but we keep it in stock just for you.”

The blue haired young woman smirked and scooped up the beer, draining half of it in one go. “Damn, Xiao Long doesn’t like a good ginger beer? Someone call the press!”

“Nah, always been a cider girl myself.” Yang picked up a few empty glasses, throwing nods and smiles at patrons.

For a Tuesday evening the bar had filled up quick, all the tables and a few of the booths occupied. The buzz of conversation and the music playing over the speakers filled the space with life and activity. Yang spotted Blake’s dark hair weaving in between tables, darting back and forth from the register. She’d been keeping a close eye on her, but it seemed that Blake didn’t need the help. She was quick and efficient and moved with a grace the bartender hadn’t expected. She smiled and chatted at patrons and some of the regulars had already passed along compliments about “the new girl.”

“So… the new girl.”

Yang looked at Nebula, quirking an eyebrow. “Yes?”

Nebula held up her hands. “Whoa, down girl. She’s cute, but not my type.”

“Don’t let Gwen hear you say that.”

Nebula threw a fond glance at the dark haired woman seated at a nearby table chatting with two other women. “Gwen’s my only, she knows that.”

Yang swiped down a section of bar with a damp cloth. “Careful, I won’t replace your beer if you drool in it.”

“Fuck off Xiao Long.”

Nebula flipped her off as she grabbed her beer and headed back towards her table. Yang laughed as she turned to the next patron. “Hey there, what can I get ya?”

The next hour passed by much the same. The crowd faded a bit but there was still plenty of people to keep busy. Food flowed from the kitchen and empty plates came back. At one point Blake stood at the register counting change and Yang set a glass of water on the counter beside her. Blake looked at it and blinked.

“Drink it. You need to stay hydrated.” Blake gave her a grateful smile and drank the water down in a few gulps.

“How’re ya doing?”

Blake drained her water and breathed. “I’m doing good. People have been...nice.”

Yang nodded as she took the glass back. “Yeah, our Tuesday crowd is great.”

A sound suspiciously like the front door being kicked in rang out, making a few heads in the bar turn at the noise. Yang sighed. “Speaking of...excuse me for a moment. Keep it up!”

She left Blake at the register looking confused and marched toward the far end of her bar. “Nora!”

Nora Valkyrie bounced up to the bar, the door still swinging behind her. “Yang!! Guess what?”

“You’re finally going to stop kicking my door open?” Yang leaned over to the side and glared at her swinging door.

Nora glanced over her shoulder, a bit sheepish. “Oh, uh right. But no it’s not that!”

Yang crossed her arms. “Well what is it?”

Nora bounced up and down rapidly, biting her lip. But before she could speak, a slender dark haired man entered through the door much more serenely. Ren spoke in his usual calm voice, “Nora, you promised.”

Nora pouted. “But Reeeen...”

Yang narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Okay… are Jaune and Pyr gonna join you guys tonight?”

“Yeah, Jaune’s just outside helping Pyrrha out of the car.” said Ren, nodding toward the front door. “They’re really the ones with the news.”

Nora continued to bounce so hard she was almost vibrating.

“Oh? News?” But before Yang could start interrogating her two friends the door dinged open again, and Jaune swept in, stepping aside to hold the door open. Pyrrha entered behind him, skillfully pumping the wheels of her chair to maneuver through the tight space.

“So.” Yang leaned against the bar and tilted her head at the couples. “Nora and Ren here tell me you guys have been keeping secrets?” She grinned playfully.

Pyrrha glanced shyly up at Jaune, who rubbed the back of his neck. She turned to Yang with a huge grin and held up her left hand, a ring sparkling on her finger.

Yang gasped. “No. Way.”

Without even bothering to open the short door on the side of the bar Yang vaulted over it and grabbed Pyrrha’s hand for a closer inspection. “NO. WAY.”

“Yes!” Pyrrha said excitedly. “Yesterday!”

Yang released her hand and dramatically clapped a hand over her heart. “Oh my lady! Another hand has stolen you away from me! But I promise my love, my heart will always beat for you!”

Pyrrha giggled and fluttered her eyelashes. “Oh my dearest knight, how fate has torn us apart!”

Yang fell to her knees beside Pyrrha’s wheelchair and presented a (clean) white cloth from her pocket. “My lady, please take this favor so you may always have my heart with you!”

Pyrrha sighed deeply and dramatically slumped in her chair. “Alas, my love, I cannot. For my hand belongs to another.”

Nora snickered at their display and Jaune rolled his eyes fondly. “Are you guys done?”

Before Jaune could see it coming Yang lunged, grabbing him in a headlock and rubbing the top of his head viciously with her fist. “You sly dog! About damn time you put a ring on it!”

Jaune sputtered and tried to wiggle out, but Yang held him tight, laughing. Pyrrha rubbed the tears from her eyes as she giggled. “Yang, please let my fiance breath. I kind of need him alive?”

Yang released her grip on Jaune who rubbed his neck and coughed. Yang laughed. “Alright you guys, your booth is waiting for ya. You getting your usual round?”

Jaune began to reach for his wallet, but Yang shook her head. “Nope, drinks are on me tonight. You’re celebrating! Who’s DD-ing?”

Ren raised his hand. Yang nodded in acknowledgment. “Alright, Blake’ll be right with you guys.”

“Ooh, Blake? You finally hired someone?” Nora bounced in place on her heels.

“Yep.” Yang winked. “And it’s her first night, so be nice.”

“Oh, Yang, I always am.” Nora skipped off toward their usual booth with Ren close on her heels. Jaune took hold of the low handles of Pyrrha’s wheelchair and began to follow them. But not before Pyrrha twisted slightly in her seat and conspicuously blew a kiss at Yang, accompanied with a small wave. Yang pretended to catch it and tuck it into the pocket of her jeans and gave an exaggerated wink back.


	5. Laugh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo everyone! I hope you all are doing awesome and staying safe out there! This chapter is a little short but sweet, and was really fun to write. Believe it or not this chapter has a theme song! Go ahead and listen to Nah! by Striking Matches while reading!
> 
> Once again thank you so much to everyone reading and supporting me in my artistic endeavors! Enjoy!

Blake turned the key to the front door, feeling it click to locked position. She breathed out slowly. The night had proven to be more taxing than she had first assumed. Her feet were throbbing and the twinge in her lower back refused to go away regardless of how she stretched.

But it was still a good feeling. Getting up and moving instead of doing what she would have normally been doing on a weeknight. Sitting around and fixing dinner for when Ilia got back from her shifts at the store.

Glassware clinked behind her, and she turned away from the door to see Yang washing glasses at the bar, chatting excitedly with her sister about their friend’s engagement.

Honestly the rowdy group had proved to be her favorite table of the night. The shorter redhead (Nora?) playfully tried to challenge Blake to an arm wrestling match every time she stopped by their table, stating something about “newbie initiation” while her friends shook their heads in amusement behind her. Their joyful energy was infectious and Blake even found herself playing along with whatever strange game that Yang and the other redhead had going on, dutifully carrying notes between the two “star crossed lovers”. It was all good fun, but Blake had to shake a mildly unpleasant feeling a few times whenever she brought a note back to the bartender and Yang would look past her and exaggerate a wink at the other girl.

Regardless of her weird feelings about her “flirting” with Yang, Blake found that she rather liked Pyrrha. She was friendly, asking Blake about where she was from and her hobbies, even showing Blake her engagement ring when asked. Her fiance Jaune was polite, if a little awkward. Ren didn’t say much, but Blake recognized a kindred spirit in his quiet calmness. Nora was his total opposite, and Blake had to gently discourage her from building a small pyramid out of empty shot glasses not only once but twice.

When they finally closed their tab for the night, Blake found herself with several new scroll numbers scribbled on a napkin and stuffed in her pocket, with a promise to “go out and hang” sometime in the near future.

The time on her watch showed close to 2am when the last patron finally stumbled out and left in a taxi. Blake yawned and stretched out the soreness of her joints.

“Tired?” called Yang from the bar. Ruby bounced back towards the kitchen humming and carrying a few stray plates.

“Yeah.” Blake hopped up on a bar stool and slid one of her shoes off to rub her sock covered foot. “Are things always that busy?”

“Nah, not usually.” Yang stacked a few more clean glasses in their places and turned away from Blake to start shuffling the tall bottles around and swap some of the empty ones. “Not for a Tuesday. I think there’s a game tonight or something, more people in town.”

Yang turned with an almost pensive look as she regarded the waitress. “You want something to drink? Normally I don’t let staff drink on the clock, but you earned it. Gotta be light though, we still got some work to do before the shift is officially over.”

“No, thank you. Uhh… alcohol doesn’t really agree with my stomach.” Blake laughed in a way she hoped sounded casual.

But Yang nodded, and gave her a small smile. “I can respect that.”

“Okay so.” Yang clapped her hands together in emphasis. “For closeouts we all have our own tasks. Weiss is closing out the books, Ruby’s cleaning the kitchen and taking stock, so it’s up to you and me to make the outer dining area spic and span for opening tomorrow.”

Yang slid out from behind the bar, headed toward the office. “That means we gotta sweep, take out the trash, wipe down the tables, dust, all of that.”

She cracked open the door and reached inside, snatching something in a quick motion before closing the door again. In her hand she held a small handheld plastic caddy with an assortment of cleaning products, spray bottles and dust rags. She gave Blake a bit of a sheepish look. “Weiss goes all ice queen on ya if you interrupt her counting too much. The cleaning stuff is kept on a shelf right inside the door, so you can just grab it real quick.”

She grabbed a broom leaning against the wall just outside the door and held both out. “So which one do you wanna do?”

“Uh, I’ll sweep.”

They got to work, Blake starting by the fireplace and Yang heading back towards the bar. Blake had just started sweeping up various bits of condiment packets and napkins from underneath the booth tables when the speakers above blasted out the beginning notes of an unfamiliar song, volume cranked up way louder than it had been during open hours. Blake looked up at Yang by the music player, startled.

Yang looked back at her and shrugged. “What? You thought this was going to be boring?” She had to almost shout over the music to be heard.

Yang started to sing along as the lyrics began. “ _These days, I put up a good front but I’m runnin’ out of money like I’m runnin’ out of love...”_

The song was unfamiliar, but Yang’s energy was infectious, and Blake found herself tapping her foot along to the beat as she swept.

“ _Throw my hands in the air then I tell it like it is, sayin’ nah nah nah nah..._ ” Yang swayed her hips back and forth as she swept her wet cloth over a booth table. “ _And it really ain’t fair but it is what it is..._ ”

As the bartender shimmied past Blake she took her hand and gently spun Blake in a twirl, who couldn’t help the bubbling laughter that rose up from somewhere deep inside, somewhere that hadn’t had a reason to laugh in a long time.

They continued the various cleaning tasks, dancing along to what Yang referred to as her “making boring shit fun” playlist. With each song Blake felt her tired soul starting to lighten as Yang’s dance moves got sillier and sillier, culminating in Yang stealing Blake's broom for a moment to air guitar with it. Eventually a song came on that Blake actually recognized from her school days and she sang along, earning herself a delighted look from Yang before she enthusiastically joined in.

And for the first time in a long time, Blake forgot about the shadows that had been haunting her for so long. Shadows chased away by a fun beat and obnoxious dance moves.


	6. Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALRIGHT EVERYONE! Here's chapter 6! This one was a doozy to write, and is a turning point in our story...
> 
> Thank you so much for reading everyone! Stay safe out there!

Over the next two weeks things settled into a routine. Blake gleefully spent her first paycheck on a grocery trip, stocking Ilia’s shelves full to bursting as well as several pairs of new pants (trying not to think about why she needed a stretchier waistband). Working nights left her exhausted, but the work felt good, like she was finally contributing to something.

Blake found herself growing comfortable at the bar. She started to recognize more and more regulars (including one particular feisty old woman who always came in right at opening and sat at the same table playing solitaire for hours, ordering cups of coffee and a bowl of the soup-of-the-day and insisting on reading Blake’s palm every time).

Her new coworkers proved to be an eclectic bunch. Ruby’s enthusiasm was almost infectious, and one evening before opening she invited Blake into the kitchen for a quick cooking lesson (“That’s quite a privilege.” Yang had said with a wink. “She must like you. Ruby’s pretty protective of her kitchen.”). Blake noticed that even Weiss seemed to be a little less cold, even offering a small smile when she handed Blake her tips for the evening.

But Yang… Yang was different.

She was perfectly friendly, but one night at the bar Blake suddenly felt butterflies erupt in her stomach when Yang laughed out loud at a sarcastic quip Blake had made. Yang snorted when she laughed and Blake decided it was the best sound in the world. Yang looked at her like she was important, like what she had to say _mattered_. It was a feeling that Blake had long forgotten – being _listened_ too.

There was definitely a physical attraction there too, in no small amount. Blake knew that Yang was an attractive woman, and more than once she’d spotted a group of girls giggling and leaning a little too far over on the bar to get the bartender’s attention and felt the burn of what she now knew was _jealousy_ in her gut.

One evening during a rush Yang had to slide past Blake in the tight space behind the bar when she was at the register and Blake caught a whiff of her light perfume. She had to take a moment in the office to breath after that.

Of course she knew exactly what was going on. _You’re attracted to her and your hormones are all over the place._ _Get a grip._ She’d tried to tell herself. _Besides, why would she even want_ _ **you**_ _? You’re a mess._

But it would take more than a pep talk while almost hyperventilating in a small messy office to get rid of the squirming in her stomach or the flush to her cheeks every time Yang said her name.

But despite Blake’s growing crush on her boss, things almost started to feel normal.

Almost.

The date on the calendar circled in red marker loomed closer and closer, like a storm cloud growing on the horizon during a sunny day. The brown paper bag still sat undisturbed where she’d left it.

It didn’t help either when one of the more _unpleasant_ symptoms of her condition finally reared its ugly head.

“Just call in.” Blake heard Ilia say, her concerned voice muffled like she was underwater. “You can’t work like this.”

Blake tried to say she was fine, but she only groaned from her place kneeling beside the toilet. The cool porcelain felt nice on her overheated skin.

“I’m fine. It’s just a little nausea, is all.” Blake rasped, her throat sore from exertion. Almost to prove her wrong her stomach lurched again and Blake gagged over the toilet bowl, nothing left to come up.

“Blake...” Ilia said in that ‘ _I know you’re going to be stubborn about this but I’m going to try and convince you anyway_ ’ tone.

“I’ll have some water and eat a few crackers, it’ll pass.” Blake spit into the toilet and shakily got to her feet to rinse out her mouth at the sink. Ilia still looked firmly unconvinced, but she eventually agreed to drop Blake off at the bar for her shift – with a few compromises.

And after only an hour into her shift Blake was already regretting her stubbornness.

“Hey, are you feeling alright?” Yang nudged her with an elbow. “You look a little pale...”

Blake turned her face away, letting her dark hair fall over her shoulder to hide her face. “I’m fine, just ate something that didn’t agree with me yesterday.”

“...alright. But if you if you need to sit down or something...”

“No, no. I’ll be alright. Moving around is helping.”

Moving around was not, in fact, helping.

Nursing a glass of water and nibbling on some light crackers did help, but the unsettled, queasy feeling lingered throughout her shift. She could feel Yang’s gaze on her all night, probably watching to make sure she didn’t puke on a patron or on the food. But Blake somehow managed to make it through to the end of the night without incident.

Blake swept a damp rag over a table, brushing off a few bread crumbs onto the floor to be swept up by Yang’s broom. The chemical smell of the disinfectant made the nausea come roaring back, making her lean on the table breathing heavily through her mouth.

“Hey, whoa, I’m serious. You don’t look good at all.”

Blake looked up at Yang, and the bartender suddenly seemed to realize what she said because her face paled a bit. “I-I mean you always look good, just not now – _dammit_ , I meant to say you still look good, you just don’t look _good_ good, like, well -”

“Yang.” Blake cut off her rambling, her tone a bit sharper than she intended. “I keep telling you, I’m _fine_. Let’s just finish up.”

Yang made a motion like she was zipping her mouth shut and tossed the ‘key’ over her shoulder.

The nausea faded and Blake got back to wiping down the tables. True to her word Yang stayed quiet, with only the rasp of the broom to fill the silence. But it only lasted a few minutes before Yang cleared her throat.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that tomorrow’s a Sunday right?”

Yang’s words were casual, but they hit Blake like a punch in the stomach. _Sunday._

The last Sunday of the month.

That red circled date on the calendar suddenly thrust to the front of her mind, and the nausea finally rolled up and over.

Blake dropped the damp rag and clamped her hand over her mouth. She bolted for the small single stall bathroom by the kitchen not pausing at Yang’s alarmed calling of her name.

She barely managed to wrench back the lid to the toilet before she vomited the crackers and water into the bowl.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she crumpled to her knees holding the edge of the bowl in a death grip.

A gentle pressure on her shoulder, rubbing small circles, made her jump. Cool fingers swept her sweaty hair back from her neck. Her stomach cramped again and she sobbed, pressing her forehead to the cold porcelain.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.” The gentleness in Yang’s voice made the tears well up even more. Blake turned her head to the side to see Yang kneeling on the bathroom floor beside her. The sincere _concern_ in her eyes, bare to the world and so _honest_ , made the dam in Blake’s heart holding back so many emotions crumble and she flung her arms around Yang’s neck, sobbing into her shoulder.

She barely felt Yang tense in her arms. Slowly, uncertainly, Yang brought her arms up to hug Blake back.

She didn’t even hear Ruby’s voice timidly ask if she was okay from the doorway, or see the worry on Weiss’s face as she set a box of tissues down beside them. All she could do was cling tightly to Yang and cry, tears from what felt like years of buildup soaking the fabric of Yang’s shirt.

Each breath felt like she was breathing through a straw and her hearing sounded muffled, like cotton balls were stuffed in her ears. Yang gently detangled their arms and put both hands on Blake’s shoulders.

“Look at me Blake.”

Blake raised her bloodshot eyes to meet Yang’s, where she found her lilac eyes boring into hers like Yang was trying to see into her soul.

“Just breathe with me, okay? In through your nose… and out through your mouth...” Yang leaned forward to touch Blake’s forehead with her own. “Just focus on my breathing. I know you can do it...”

With foreheads pressed together like this Blake’s entire vision was taken up by Yang’s eyes, so close she could see the multiple shades of purple, from deep amethyst to pale lilac.

Yang took in a deep slow breath through her nose and Blake struggled to copy it. She blew out the breath once, _inhale_ , twice…

Blake found as she breathed with Yang each breath got easier, and the tears slowed to a stop. Until she was finally matching Yang breath for breath, and she gave Blake a heartbreakingly beautiful smile.

“There you are. Does that feel better?”

Blake gave a trembling nod. The panic attack left her feeling weak and shaky, but her vision didn’t feel like she was trying to read a book from the other side of a train tunnel anymore.

“Blake?”

Blake looked up at Yang’s tone. Her eyebrows were knitted together, and she hesitantly reached out, slowly, giving Blake every chance to pull away. When Blake didn’t, Yang took her hand in a soft hold.

“You know, if you need someone to talk to, about anything, I’ve been told I’m a good listener.” Yang chuckled softly.

Maybe it was the moment they had just shared, or maybe it was Yang’s open and honest expression. Or maybe even the cathartic release of so many pent up emotions that only a good long crying session can do, but Blake felt a sudden strong urge to spill everything to this woman, to not hold anything back. So she didn’t.

“I’m pregnant.”


	7. Amazing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are. Chapter 7. I'll admit guys, I teared up at this one. This hit right in the honey-nut feelios, if you know what I mean?
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading and supporting me! And once again, I hope everyone is staying safe out there!

“I’m pregnant.”

Yang blinked.

And blinked again.

That was _not_ was she was expecting Blake to say.

Blake stared at her, slowly pulling her hand out of Yang’s lose grasp to twist nervously in her lap.

Yang could almost see her shrinking, like a wilting flower and dread filled her throat. The sight was absolutely _heartbreaking_.

Yang forcefully swallowed (her tongue feeling five times its size) and managed a reassuring smile. “Uh, congratulations? I think? I guess this isn’t the best time for congrats though...”

She nodded in the vague direction of the toilet bowl, and Blake barked a laugh, though it resembled a sob more than anything.

Yang slowly reached out her hand, watching Blake’s face for any kind of negative reaction. When Blake gave her a small nod, Yang began to rub small circles on her shoulder. “Are you feeling better? Do you need some water? Or juice?”

Yang hardly recognized her own soft tone, but Blake just looked so _fragile_ – so different from the girl she’d gotten to know – like a single harsh word would cause her to shatter into a million pieces.

Blake looked back down at her lap and wiped the tears from one of her eyes with the heel of her palm. She sniffled, and gave a small nod.

“Okay.” Yang took her hand again and pulled Blake to her feet, reaching without looking to flush the toilet.

They made their way to the bar, where Blake slid up onto a bar stool and Yang set a small glass of amber liquid in front of her.

Blake raised an eyebrow and looked at Yang through still-bloodshot eyes.

Yang chuckled. “Relax. It’s just apple juice.”

Blake sipped slowly from her juice as Yang darted around her finishing up their cleaning chores. Every time Blake tried to get up Yang would wave her off.

(“You just puked your guts out. You need to sit and re-hydrate!”)

Surprisingly Blake didn’t protest too much, she just stared into her juice with a blank expression. Eventually Yang was finishing up with the last few dirty glasses behind the bar, when Blake finally spoke in a tired voice.

“Are you going to fire me?”

Yang paused in the middle of wiping the base of a pint glass. She turned to Blake and frowned. “Why would I fire you?” she said gently.

“Because I didn’t tell you? Because I could be a _liability_? Isn’t that what everyone says?” Blake’s tone sounded flat, monotone, like she was already resigned to it.

Yang set down the pint glass with a little more force than she intended. “Anyone who fires somebody for _being pregnant_ is an _asshole_.”

Yang leaned her elbows on the bar top, angling down to look Blake in the eye. “While I do wish you could have told me earlier, I’m not going to fire you for this. You’re amazing, and frankly an asset to this place. I’d be an _idiot_ to let you go for something so minor!”

Blake blinked, and her mouth hung open slightly. “You… think I’m _amazing_?”

Yang felt her cheeks suddenly burning and turned sharply back towards the rack of glasses. “Well, yeah. All the regulars love you, and you’ve been a great help here.”

“Oh.”

Yang glanced over her shoulder at the note of disappointment in Blake’s voice. She was staring into her glass again, shoulders hunched.

_Shit_. Yang gave herself a mental kick in the ass. “Wait, no, I didn’t mean-”

Yang raked her hand through her bangs and blew out a breath. She sighed, and propped her elbows back up on the bar’s edge. “Blake?”

Blake looked up at Yang through her eyelashes, and Yang felt her stomach swoop at the sight.

“I’ve only known you for a few short weeks, but I can _see_ that you are an incredible young woman. You’re kind, and thoughtful, and strong. And..” here Yang swallowed, and lowered her voice to an almost whisper. “...and I can tell that _someone_ has made you not believe all those things, made you see yourself as someone who doesn’t deserve those words.”

Blake’s ears flattened to her head, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. Yang smiled, small and sad.

Blake pressed her face into her hands and her shoulders shook in a sob. “I… I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“What do you _want_ to do?” Yang kept her voice soft. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Ruby peaking out of the kitchen door and mouth _is she okay?_ Weiss’s pale hair appearing in the space above Ruby’s head. Yang shook her head minutely. Ruby’s expression turned sad, then thoughtful and she ducked back into the kitchen. Weiss lingered in the doorway, watching Blake. Yang could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

“I… I want...” Blake’s voice started out quiet, shaky. She sniffled again. Yang silently slid a napkin across the bar top and Blake took it with a grateful look.

“I want… to not be afraid anymore. I want… to make a choice for _me_ this time. To bring something… _good_ into this world. _He_ just took _so much_ from me...”

Yang had a pretty good idea of who _he_ was, and had to look away for a moment to force down her anger. The thought of someone _hurting_ Blake…

“So. I am going to make this decision for _me_. And no one else. I… _want_ this baby. They didn’t ask for their father to be a -” Blake cut herself off, pressing her fist against her closed mouth and squeezing her eyes shut.

Yang glanced down at the wood grain of the bar top, swallowing back against the lump in her throat.

“Blake?”

Ruby’s hesitant voice broke the moment, and they both looked over to see her standing a small distance away, cradling a steaming bowl in her hands.

Ruby suddenly looked nervous with two sets of eyes on her at once, but she cleared her throat. “Blake, I happened to have some chicken noodle soup left over from today. I was going to throw it out, but I thought it could go to better use.”

Ruby hopped up on a stool next to Blake and set the bowl down in front of her. Yang caught a whiff of Summer’s familiar recipe and couldn’t help but smile.

Ruby twisted her apron in her hands. “It’s not much, but it’s homemade. And great for an upset stomach! Just ask Yang! She practically LIVED off this stuff when she had that bad bought of stomach flu.”

Yang gave a semi-playful scowl and batted in Ruby’s direction with her washcloth. “You swore you’d never talk about that again!”

Ruby easily dodged the half-hearted swat with a cheeky grin, and leaned in towards Blake. “ _She turns into the BIGGEST baby when she’s sick_...” Ruby stage whispered into Blake’s ear.

Yang made as if to swipe at her again and Ruby hopped off the stool with a cackle.

Blake half-sobbed half-laughed at the sisters little display. She picked up the spoon and wiped another tear from her eye with her other hand. “I… thanks, Ruby.”

Ruby’s expression softened. “You’re welcome, Blake.”

Blake took a spoonful of soup and Yang watched her eyes widen. Blake took a much bigger second spoonful and Yang grinned. “It’s good right?”

“Yeah, it’s _really_ good. Ruby, you _made_ this?”

Ruby nodded, a note of pride in her voice. “Yup. It’s our mom’s recipe, with my own slight adjustments. Just about perfect for an upset stomach or a cold day.”

Blake eagerly agreed and slurped her soup noisily. She flushed and put her spoon back down at the sight of Yang’s gaze on her. Blake cleared her throat. “Sorry...”

Ruby laughed. “Don’t be! It’s a compliment! That’s nothing compared to Yang’s table manners!”

This time Yang’s washcloth **did** make contact with the back of Ruby’s head. “Hey!” she exclaimed.

“Don’t you have chores to finish?” Yang grumbled.

Ruby stuck her tongue out. “You’re no fun!”

But she hopped off the bar stool and made her way back to the kitchen, grumbling to herself.

Blake turned back to her soup, sipping much slower this time.

A silence fell between them, but it wasn’t awkward or tense. Blake sipped her soup and Yang hummed a tune under her breath as she stacked clean glasses and gave the bar top one last wipe down. Tomorrow was Sunday, but that didn’t mean chores could be neglected.

“So...” Yang spoke casually. “How do you feel? Better?”

Blake handed over the empty bowl to be washed and smiled at Yang. This one was still small, but not nearly as shaky.

“Better. I’ve got my first appointment tomorrow at the OB/GYN, and I’m still pretty nervous...”

Yang cleared her throat as she accepted the bowl and gave it a quick hand wash in the bar sink, instead of sending it to the kitchen to clog up the dishwasher. “Do you… are you...”

Blake tilted her head, ears perking up and eyes almost sparkling in the light, and Yang abruptly lost her train of thought.

“Do I…?” Blake prompted, and Yang had to give herself a mental shake.

“Doyouwantsomeonetogowithyou?” She blurted out. _**Shit.**_

Blake blinked. “I’m… sorry?”

“Do you want someone to go with you?” Yang coughed and looked away. “You know? For moral support? Because… you know… we’re closed tomorrow and… I’m free.”

Blake opened her mouth, then closed it. She looked down at her lap, brow furrowed.

“It’s okay if you don’t!” Yang felt panic that she’d overstepped somehow. “I’ll totally understand if you want to do this on your own!”

Blake blinked again, as if confused. “You would… do that? For me?”

“Well, yeah.” Yang shrugged and hoped to the gods Blake somehow didn’t notice how red her cheeks were. “I’m your friend. That’s what friends do, right?”

“Friends… right.” Blake looked back down at her lap. “I think… I think I’d like that. For you to come, I mean.”

“Alright.” Yang felt a genuine smile cross her face. “It’s a date!”

Blake’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline, and Yang held her hands up in the air. “Sorry, sorry, that was a bad joke.”

Blake gave a watery chuckle, and Yang felt her stomach do that awfully familiar swoop at the sound.

Oh she was in _deep_ trouble.


	8. Heartbeat Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo everyone! Hope you all are doing great out there and staying safe!
> 
> So this chapter and chapter 9 were originally going to be one whole chapter but it would have been double the size of my usual chapters and my brain likes to remain consistent about that. Good news about that is chapter 9 isn't going to take as long to update. I'm going to skip ahead of my usual alternating schedule and wait to update Wings of Gold until after. See you all then!

Blake scuffed her sneaker on the sidewalk, watching a small pebble roll away into the street. Resisting the impulse to check her watch. A glance up and down the street in front of Ilia’s apartment complex, but it remained empty.

She forced down the anxiety building in her stomach. _She said she’d be here._

She thought back to the conversation with Ilia last night. Her friend had given her another talking to about going in for her shift while she was so sick, but she’d been surprisingly pleased when Blake told her about her agreement with Yang.

“I’m just glad _someone’s_ going with you,” she’d grumbled while cranking up the heat in her ancient truck. “I know how stubborn you can be.”

Blake opened her mouth to object to that statement but was interrupted by another bout of nausea that had her gagging into the plastic bag Ilia had thrust into her hands as soon as Blake hopped in the passenger seat (“If you puke in my baby I’m kicking you out the door,” she’d said with a smile. Blake hadn’t been entirely sure if she was joking or not).

“And who knows. She _is_ pretty cute...” Ilia had winked. Blake gaped at her like a fish over her plastic bag.

“What? All I’m saying is the bartender at Summer’s Place is well known around certain circles for being easy on the eyes. But you’ve probably noticed already...” Ilia wiggled her eyebrows (which happened to be flashing bright yellow).

Blake flushed and tried to hide her face behind her hair. “She’s not… bad looking I guess.”

Ilia threw her head back and cackled. “I’ve had a drink or two at that bar, that’s an understatement.”

Blake groaned into her plastic bag. “I’m not talking to you anymore.”

“Well, if you’re not going to hop on that I am. You got her number right?”

Blake jerked her head out of her sick bag to glare daggers at Ilia who just grinned back at her.

Ilia broke out into laughter as she turned away, pulling into her designated parking spot. “ _You_ – _wheeze_ – _you should see your face_!”

Blake hopped out of the truck and slammed the door. “You’re terrible.”

“Aw, but you still like me!”

Thankfully the nausea had faded by the morning and Blake felt almost normal again. Ilia had easily gotten back into Blake’s good graces by promising more spaghetti, but her words still rang in both sets of Blake’s ears. Yang was attractive, that was undeniable. But Blake knew that she was nowhere near ready for any kind of relationship, so soon after… all that had happened. Blake still found herself looking over her shoulder when out by herself, anxious that she’d catch a glimpse of scarlet hair and a familiar sneer.

Bruises and broken bones long healed ached with a phantom pain during moments like this.

A faint rumble, like distant thunder, made her ears perk up and draw her out of her thoughts. She glanced up the road just as an obnoxiously bright yellow motorcycle came cruising around the corner onto her street. Blake’s jaw dropped.

The motorcycle eased to a stop in front of her and the rider pulled their helmet off, grinning at her and shaking out long blonde hair. Blake came to a sudden realization that she’d never seen Yang out of her uniform before, and the difference was _stark_.

A worn brown leather jacket, _ridiculously_ tight pants, tall boots, a loose white v-neck t-shirt, and shiny aviators like she’d walked right out of a _Biker Chic_ magazine. Blake suddenly felt a little self conscious of her leggings and hoodie.

Yang flipped her hair and dismounted (Blake had to wrench her eyes away from how the muscles in her thighs moved beneath her sinfully tight pants) and strolled over to Blake, an easy roll to her hips.

She tilted her aviators and grinned brightly at Blake. “Hey there, lil’ lady. Need a ride?” she said in an exaggerated accent. She wiggled her eyebrows for emphasis.

Blake couldn’t help a giggle at the sight. Yang winked and pulled off her aviators to tuck them into the v of her t shirt. “Sorry I’m a little late. Traffic was a nightmare.”

Blake glanced down at her watch. “Only by ten minutes. We should be fine.”

“Alright, let’s get going!” Yang gestured to her motorcycle. Blake blanched.

“Umm… I’ve never...”

“Oh!” Yang blinked and smiled a bit sheepishly. “Right. I shoulda asked.” She hurried over to the vehicle and opened a hatch at the back, pulling out a black and red helmet. “Okay, so riding a motorcycle’s super easy. Especially if you’re not driving.” She gave a cheeky grin that prompted Blake to smile back. “This is Ruby’s helmet. It should fit you, she’s got a big head.”

Yang handed over the helmet. “So you’ll sit behind me and hold on and just lean when I do, alright?”

Blake gulped down her nerves as Yang swung a leg back over the motorcycle, gesturing for her to do the same.

The motorcycle was a lot wider and taller up close than it had looked at first, and it took a few tries to swing her leg over. The seat clearly wasn’t meant for two, so she found herself pressed close to Yang’s back. She very tentatively put hands on her waist, barely touching. The leather of her jacket wasn’t enough to conceal how _solid_ her core was. She was glad Yang wasn’t facing her so she couldn’t see how red Blake’s face had gotten. She got a whiff of Yang’s familiar perfume.

Yang kicked the motorcycle to life and it growled like it was alive beneath Blake. She jumped and wrapped both arms around Yang’s waist as a reflex. Yang patted her forearm and said (almost shouted over the rumble of the engine) “You’re okay! I’ve got you.”

And Blake believed her.

* * *

After she got over the initial nerves, riding a motorcycle was surprisingly… _fun_. Exhilarating even. Adam had always told her that motorcycles were death traps and anyone who owned one was irresponsible, but riding with Yang was a different experience. The helmet pressed down on her ears in an uncomfortable way, but even that wasn’t enough to take the excitement out of her first motorcycle ride. They zipped through the heart of the city with ease, weaving through traffic like it wasn’t there. Blake squealed a laugh when they turned a corner a little fast. Then another. Blake couldn’t see Yang’s expression but she _swore_ she could feel a chuckle through her torso. The wind was a little too cold, but Yang was _very_ warm. Blake told herself that was only reason she curled closer and tightened her hold on Yang’s waist.

She almost didn’t want the moment to end, but eventually they cruised to a stop in a quieter part of the city. Blake thought the clinic looked a lot taller than it did in the pictures.

She dismounted first and pulled her helmet off, flexing the minute muscles in her cat ears to stretch out the soreness from being compressed too long. Yang pulled hers off and gave a low whistle at the tall white building. “Wow. This the right place?”

“Uh-huh.” Blake’s eyes skittered over the sign above the glass doors. Her nerves had come back with a vengeance.

“Hey.”

Blake looked over at Yang.

“If you want to go in by yourself, it’s fine. I can just wait for ya out here -”

“No!”

Yang blinked. Blake swallowed back the lump in her throat. “I… I want you to come in.”

Yang’s eyes softened with something Blake couldn’t quite place.

“Okay.”

Yang’s solid presence at her back almost felt like it carried her through the doors into the warm waiting room. It was simple, pale beige walls and potted plants and various magazines boasting their tips on decorating nurseries strewn about on low tables and chairs.

“I’ll find us a seat.” Yang murmured. One of Blake’s pointed ears flicked in her direction, acknowledging her words.

Without Yang at her back Blake suddenly felt like she’d shrunk down several sizes. That or the reception desk in front of her had grown to gigantic proportions. She gulped and twisted the hem of her hoodie in her hands.

Blake shuffled up to the desk where a younger man with smooth horns spiraling over his ears sat typing on a sleek computer. He didn’t appear to notice her.

Blake cleared her throat.

He glanced up from his screen and perked up. He gave what was clearly a customer service smile. “Hello. What can I do for you today?”

“I’m, uh..” her voice squeaked out at a higher pitch than she meant it, so she coughed again. “I’m here to see Dr. Scarlatina?”

“Ah, you must be her two o’clock appointment.”

The clicking of the keyboard sounded too loud to Blake’s ears.

“Ms. Belladonna?”

“Yes.” Blake swallowed.

If the receptionist noticed her nervousness, he didn’t show it. “Alright looks like you’re a little early. Just go ahead and fill out some paperwork for us and I’ll let the doctor know you’re here.”

He handed her a clipboard with a short stack of papers. Blake caught a glimpse of the nametag clipped to his shirt. _Mata_.

“Thanks.” Blake mumbled as she took the offered clipboard. It felt heavy in her hands as she shuffled back towards Yang, now seated in a simple plastic chair flipping through a magazine. Blake sat down heavily in a matching chair beside her and skimmed through the papers.

“Huh.” Yang peered at the magazine in her hands. “Did you know people are putting, like, _spinning wheels_ and junk in their kids rooms?”

“What?” Blake looked up from writing out her first, middle, and last names to squint at Yang.

Yang tilted the page she had open in her lap to show Blake the article, _Cool Ways to Decorate Your Nursery With Antiques!_ accompanied by an artsy picture of a refurbished spinning wheel beside a pink and white crib.

“I… don’t know how I feel about that.”

Yang snorted. “Yeah me neither. Sounds like a dumb way to get your kid cursed by a fairy or something.”

Blake pressed her lips together in an attempt to hide her smile and back to her paperwork.

For a while the only sounds were the scratching of Blake’s pen against paper and the flipping of magazine pages. The paperwork was full of basic questions about Blake’s health history, her age, weight, height, preferred gender pronouns, etc. Filling out the information surprisingly didn’t take too long and Blake shuffled back to the desk to return the clipboard to Mata. But not long after she plopped back down in her chair beside Yang a new problem made itself known.

Yang didn’t take long to notice Blake’s squirming, twisting her hands together and crossing and uncrossing her legs.

“You okay?” Yang said, closing the magazine in her lap (the third one she’d gone through in 15 minutes).

“Yeah, I’m just...” Blake’s eyes flickered over almost longingly to a nondescript door on the other side of the room with a familiar logo.

“Oh.”

Blake did not have to look over at Yang to hear the embarrassment in her voice. “I’m sure you have time to go quickly before they call you in...”

“I can’t.” Blake squeezed her eyes shut and crossed her legs again. “They need a...um… full bladder to do the ultrasound correctly, or something. I drank three glasses of water before you picked me up.”

Yang sucked air through her teeth in sympathy. “Ooh, ouch. Anything I can do?”

Blake inhaled once. Twice. “Distract me.”

“How?”

“Just… tell me a story. Something about you.”

“About me, huh? Hmm...” Yang bent over the side of her seat to place the magazine back in its stack. “Let’s see… I’m 24, I got my tattoo when I was 16, I have a dog -”

“A dog?” Blake’s ears perked up.

“Yep. Technically he’s the family dog but… I’m totally his favorite.” Yang smiled and winked conspiratorially. “He’s like super old now and lives with my dad on Patch – that’s an island just off the mainland, maybe I’ll show you someday. It’s small but cute. Got a little town and everything.”

Blake listened to Yang ramble on about anything and everything for another ten minutes, telling all about the little island town of Patch and her childhood there.

The sound of Yang’s voice and the way she described things like the smell of her mom’s cooking and looking at tidepools with her sister almost swept Blake’s nerves away, like the way the autumn wind blew the leaves down the street outside. She couldn’t help but stare at the way Yang’s face lit up, her eyes shined and the freckles on her nose and cheeks crinkle when she laughed at a memory. She forgot about her full bladder or where they were.

Blake didn’t realize she was leaning toward Yang until the sound of her name made her jolt upright in her seat.

A woman in nurses scrubs stood in the doorway beside the reception desk glancing down at a clipboard. “Blake Belladonna?” she called again.

“Uh, that’s me.” Blake stood up on shaky legs and heard Yang’s chair creak as she stood as well. Blake turned to look back at her.

Yang looked unsure, rubbing the back of her neck. “I can wait out here if you want. The atrocious décor ideas can keep me company.” she chuckled nervously and gestured toward the uneven stack of magazines beside her. Blake swallowed against the solid lump in her throat. Without a word she held out her hand, palm up. Waiting.

Yang glanced down, eyebrows furrowing. She looked back up at Blake, searching.

Blake gave her a tiny nod. And relaxed at the feel of Yang’s warm palm slipping into her own.


	9. Heartbeat Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Okay first of all I want to sincerely apologize for how long this chapter took to come out. The final season of She-ra dropped and I've been sucked into a catradora haze for the last two weeks (not that I'm complaining) and it kinda threw me off my game. But HERE IT IS! Honestly this is a chapter that I've been waiting to write since this fic was just a twinkle in my eye and I'm sooo glad I got to write it.
> 
> As always I'm SUPER grateful to EVERY ONE OF YOU for supporting me and my work. You are all the real rockstars.

The ticking of the clock and the crinkle of thin paper sounded like thunder to Blake’s ears.

The walls of the small exam room were decorated with various posters, illustrating anatomy and different levels of fetal growth. Blake flicked her eyes from one poster to the other, feeling nausea starting to climb up in her throat. The walls felt like they were shrinking, her vision narrowing down to a tiny pinpoint…

“Hey.”

Blake whipped her head toward Yang, ears flattened to her head.

Yang smiled and gave Blake’s hand a squeeze (she had almost forgotten she was still gripping it tightly). “Everything’s gonna be fine. I’m right here with you.”

The sight of Yang’s bright smile gave Blake a feeling in her stomach that she didn’t recognize, but the pounding in her ears and the nausea in her stomach eased.

She could have basked in Yang’s smile forever, but a quiet knock at the door broke the spell. The door clicked open, and the first thing that Blake saw was a pair of long brown ears before being followed by a smiling woman in tan scrubs. “Ms. Belladonna?”

“Yes.” Blake’s voice came out just a little higher pitched than she intended. She coughed into her free hand.

“Hello! I’m Dr. Scarlatina.” The doctor entered the exam room and pulled the door shut behind her. The doctor had a faint accent that Blake couldn’t quite place. Something north Mistralian?

Dr. Scarlatina took a seat in a small rolling stool and held out her hand. “Would it be alright if I called you Blake?”

“I guess so.” The doctor had a warm, friendly aura, and Blake felt herself relaxing despite herself. Yang squeezed her hand again. Blake reached out and shook the doctor’s hand.

Dr. Scarlatina shook Yang’s hand as well and turned to softly smile at Blake. “Nervous?”

Blake swallowed a thick lump in her throat. Was she that obvious?

“There’s no shame in being nervous, especially if this is your first. Believe me, I’ve seen it all.” The doctor chuckled, pulling out a familiar clipboard. “It says here that this is your first pre-natal appointment?”

“Uh huh.” Blake pulled harder on the thread.

“Did you take an over-the-counter pregnancy test before this?”

“Yes.”

“More than one?”

“Four of them.”

If the doctor was surprised at the number, she didn’t show it. “And when was your last period?”

“Three months ago.” Blake swallowed hard against the lump in her throat.

“What symptoms have you been having? Nausea, fatigue, soreness in your hips and breasts?”

Blake could almost feel Yang looking at her and felt a flush to her cheeks. “Yes.”

The doctor hummed thoughtfully. “Well, those symptoms certainly line up with early pregnancy. We can give you a blood drawn test to be sure? Or if you’d rather we can get the ultrasound fired up and I can take a look?”

“Can we just get the ultrasound done?” Blake squirmed pointedly in her seat.

Dr. Scarlatina grimaced in sympathy. “Ah, yes of course. That is the worst part. Wait here, I’ll be back in about ten minutes.”

The doctor left them alone. Blake forced her hand to unclench in her lap. A gentle nudge on her shoulder made her glance up at Yang’s face, filled with concern. “Hey. How are you feeling?”

Blake swallowed heavily. “I guess… it hasn’t really felt _real_ up until now.”

Yang squeezed the hand she held. “Yeah, I think I get it. I mean, I can’t say I’ve been in the same situation – not to say that your situation is _bad_ I just – I’m going to stop talking.” Yang flushed and cleared her throat.

Strangely enough Yang’s flustered rambling put Blake at ease and she couldn’t help but smile. The way the points of Yang’s cheeks tinted pink seemed to almost highlight her freckles and when Yang pulled her hair back over her shoulder Blake noticed how her blush had spread to the tips of her ears. Blake returned a shoulder nudge. “Don’t stop, I like to hear you talk.”

Yang’s ears flushed darker. “Um… you do?”

“Yeah.” Blake gave her a small smile. “It helps, you know, get me out of my own head.”

Something soft passed across Yang’s face. “Okay.”

Blake’s stomach fluttered like she’d suddenly swallowed a jar full of butterflies. She felt her own face starting to warm up and she shyly looked back down at the floor.

_I’m so glad you’re here._ Blake opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat.

A knock at the door saved her, and Dr Scarlatina’s long rabbit ears poked through the door when it cracked open. She smiled at them both (Blake almost imagined it was with a knowing edge) and opened the door wider, pulling a large cart behind her. “Alright so don’t be too alarmed at this thing, I know it looks like a torture machine.”

She wasn’t wrong, Blake noticed with a bit of wariness. The ultrasound machine was big and clunky, a thing of wires and buttons and screens perched on a rickety cart with squeaky wheels. Dr Scarlatina instructed Blake to lay back against the reclined exam chair and pull her shirt up to expose her abdomen. Blake tried to calm the rushing sound in her ears.

Yang’s hand in hers felt like an anchor in a squall.

“Alright, a bit of a warning, this’ll be cold...” The doctor squeezed a blob of clear gel onto Blake’s lower stomach and Blake couldn’t help a small squeak. It _was_ cold…

“So, uh, what’re you doing there?” Yang leaned over the table curiously, still not letting go of Blake’s hand.

One of Dr Scarlatina’s long ears twitched in amusement. Clearly this wasn’t the first curious inquiry she had encountered. “Well this gel works as a lubricant to help the wand slide easily, so we can look at your baby at different angles.” She held up a small handheld instrument and clicked a few buttons. The machine whirred in response. “This is the wand, it sends out a low frequency sound and picks up the echos to make a picture, which we’ll see up here.” She gestured to the largest screen, currently dark.

Yang nodded seriously, and Blake suddenly pictured an image of Yang scribbling furiously in a mental notebook like she was studying for a school exam.

“Alright, just take a breath for me, Blake...” Dr Scarlatina pressed the end of the wand gently but firmly into Blake’s lower stomach, sliding it across her skin. “There’ll be some discomfort but let me know if you feel any sharp pain.”

Blake blew out a breath, her cheeks puffing out, and thumped her head back onto the headrest to stare up at the ceiling. The wand moved across her skin (unfortunately pressing down on the _source_ of her physical discomfort) and she closed her eyes. She heard the click of more buttons, the whir of the machine, Dr Scarlatina humming thoughtfully. She tried to focus on the sound of Yang’s breathing beside her, but thoughts buzzed in her head like angry hornets. Thoughts of the doctor not finding anything, that she was stupid and read the tests _wrong_ somehow, that the weeks of anxiety and stress had been for _nothing_ …

“Ah there it is!”

Blake’s eyes shot open and snapped to the screen, now a blur of gray instead of blank darkness. At first she couldn’t quite make sense of what she was seeing. The screen looked like a smear of black and gray, moving and shifting like a stormy sea. Dr Scarlatina clicked a few buttons and the image zoomed in. She angled the screen and pointed a finger along the shapes. “Alright here’s the head and torso. That little nub is an arm -”

As the doctor trace her finger on the screen, a shape began to form. It was almost alien like, with a bulbous head and a short torso. As Blake watched the shape stirred, kicking out a stubby leg and wiggling side to side.

“Oh looks like we’ve got an active one!” said the doctor cheerily as she re-positioned the ultrasound wand. “Let’s see...” She clicked a few buttons on her control panel beneath the screen, and suddenly a loud sound filled the room.

It sounded like a fast, rhythmic _whooshing_ , like swishing water. Blake’s ears perked up tall at the sound.

“Ahh, now that’s a strong heartbeat.” said Dr Scarlatina, smiling to herself as she made notes on another clipboard.

Blake stared at the screen. All the anxiety and worry that had been eating away at her over the last month and a half seemed to be fading away, like sand slipping through her fingers. Swept away by that loud whooshing sound, the baby’s heartbeat.

_Her_ baby’s heartbeat.

It filled her ears, almost matching her own pulse but at a faster pace. Up until this moment the baby had almost been an abstract concept, something she knew was coming but had felt far, far away. To see it now, up on a screen but so _real…_ Her eyes burned suspiciously.

“Wow.”

Blake finally turned away from the screen at the sound of Yang’s voice, half whispered like she hadn’t meant to say it aloud.

Yang stared at the screen, her mouth hanging open and lilac eyes wide with wonder. She seemed to feel Blake’s eyes on her, because she blinked and met Blake’s gaze with a small smile and a pink tinge to her cheeks. “That’s… really cool.”

Blake gave a watery laugh. “That’s one way to put it.”

“It looks like you’re about ten weeks along, Blake. That’ll put your due date at about mid June. We can get a more accurate date at your next appointment.” Dr Scarlatina clicked a few more buttons, and the image on the screen froze. Taking pictures, Blake realized.

“Alright, I’m just going to print out some pictures for you, and we’ll set up another appointment for you next month. You’re just about getting into your second trimester, so the nausea should start to ease up in the next few weeks. Until then, light foods like soups and crackers should help. I’ll go ahead and write you a prescription for some pre-natal vitamins, and here’s some information on recommended nutrition. You can go ahead and wipe that gel off now.” The doctor said with a chuckle, handing over a box of tissues. Blake took it in a daze, her eyes back on the image of her unborn child, still frozen on the ultrasound screen.

The next 20 minutes passed in a blur, a folder of paperwork pushed into her hands and a gentle hand around her shoulders steering her out of the exam room. They exited out onto the street (after a _much_ needed stop at the restroom) and Blake cracked open the folder in her hands. Tucked right against the seam was a bundle of gray and black photos. Almost in a trance she reverently plucked off the top picture and traced her thumb across it.

A sudden wind blew, much colder than it had been earlier. A soft weight around her shoulders brought her back to the moment and she blinked, Yang’s soft lilac eyes coming into focus.

“Hey, how ya doing?” She squeezed Blake’s shoulders.

“I… I think I’m okay. For the first time in… a while.” Blake tucked the folder under one arm and tightened Yang’s jacket around her shoulders. “Here.”

Blake held the black and white photo out to Yang. Her eyes widened and she gingerly took the glossy paper. “Really? For me?”

“Yeah. Put it up in the office or something. She gave me more copies.” Blake shifted the folder under her arm for emphasis.

“Wow.” The soft tone was back in Yang’s voice as she looked down at the photo in wonder. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Blake watched as Yang carefully tucked the photo into a small bag hanging off the side of her motorcycle. Blake took her quiet offer to tuck her folder of paperwork in the same pocket and swung a leg over behind Yang.

“So, uhh..” Yang didn’t kick the bike on immediately, but instead turned to peer at Blake behind her. “You hungry? I know this great little pizza place just a couple blocks from here...?”

“Yang.” Blake watched the tips of Yang’s ears turn pink under her bright yellow helmet. “I’d love to go eat pizza with you.”

The bright smile Blake got in response felt like the sun had broke through the clouds and chased away the autumn cold.


	10. Remembering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert screenshot of a frazzled Squidward kissing a pile of paper* WHELP IT'S ALMOST 3 AM HERE AND I AM TIRED
> 
> (But seriously this was a hard chapter to get through, but somehow cathartic to write at the same time. Agonized over and rewrote the ending for ages but I think I've finally got it to a good place. Lots of feels in this one folks, I hope you all enjoy and as always stay safe and healthy out there!)

Blake pushed open the door to the bar, hearing the familiar jingle of the bell above the door frame and humming a song she’d heard on the radio earlier that day under her breath. The bar looked empty, but her ears picked up the clink and clatter of dishes as well as Ruby’s usual rock music blaring from the kitchen. She took a breath, about to call out, but she paused. Something was… different.

Blake breathed again, pulling in the smell that drifted from the cracked door to the kitchen. It smelled warm and… familiar?

The scent tickled something in the back of Blake’s mind, a dim bell like a distant ship’s horn through thick fog. It summoned images of palm trees, sandy beaches, and an ocean breeze playing with her hair like a loved one. Of warm wood paneled walls and even warmer hugs.

Blake stood by the doorway for what seemed like ages, breathing in the heavenly scent with her eyes closed, but the creak of the kitchen door broke the spell and Ruby poked her head out. “Blake? Is that you?”

“Yeah.” Blake gave herself a small shake and she took a few steps further in, setting her small purse on the bar top. “What is that _smell_?”

“Oh!” Ruby brightened, her gray eyes almost shining in the light. “That reminds me! I have something to show you!”

Ruby disappeared back into the kitchen and Blake followed. Feeling like the scent on the air was beckoning her with a curled finger.

Ruby’s kitchen was a storm of chaos, various bubbling pots and plates of vegetables waiting to be chopped for pre-shift prep work crowding the counters. Ruby darted from place to place with the grace of a dancer, a bright red dish cloth tucked into her back pocket flapping behind her like a cape. Her short choppy hair held back by a faded red baseball cap.

Ruby paused in front of one of the largest pots Blake had ever seen – large enough for Ruby herself to squeeze into if she tried – and lifted the lid to dip a ladle in and stir in a slow clockwise motion. A cloud of steam floated up from under the lid and that enticing smell got stronger.

“So, you know I like to experiment and add onto the menu, especially with our specials and soups.” said Ruby, watching intently as she stirred with her brow furrowed in concentration. “Since you started working here, I’ve been doing some research on Menagerian dishes.”

Ruby lifted a ladle full of a chunky red-orange stew and poured it back into the pot, inspecting it closely like she was trying to read a manuscript in another language. “A bit more complicated than I’m used to, but I’m always up for a challenge.”

Apparently she found what she was looking for, because Ruby gave a decisive nod. She snatched a clean bowl from a nearby stack and poured in a few ladles of stew.

She thrust the bowl into a bewildered Blake’s hands and steered her out the kitchen door. “It was hard to track down some of the ingredients, but I think I’ve finally cracked it.”

Blake let herself be guided along with the bowl of stew warming her hands. Bringing to mind a distant memory of a similar scene in a familiar place...

Blake sat down on one of the bar stools and Ruby hopped up beside her, still chattering away and seemingly oblivious to Blake’s silence. “The meat is a local fish, you know, so it might not be _wholly_ authentic, but I found some real Menagerian tomatoes down at the farmer’s market in the Faunus District! I usually go to the one at the park on Sixth Street, but I’m definitely going back to this one! I met this super nice faunus lady who has a stall where she sells all these different herbs and spices, some I’d only ever read about! We talked for like _forever_ and she had some great tips for cooking Menagerian dishes!”

As she listened to Ruby’s chatter Blake picked up a spoon and (with an only slightly shaky hand) scooped up a spoonful of stew. The flavors exploded on her tongue, the tartness of the tomatoes blending with the burn of spice that traveled down to her core, warming her from the inside out. Suddenly, she was back on Menagerie, sitting beside her father at a familiar dining table sharing happy smiles and real laughter. Her mother setting bowls of spicy fish stew down in front of them, planting a kiss on Blake’s forehead and laughing at her husbands pout at not getting a kiss himself. A scene that might have actually happened, or might have been imagined.

A feeling she thought long lost blossomed in Blake’s chest and the image of the bar top in front of her blurred.

“So then I said – Blake? Are you – oh!”

Ruby didn’t get to finish the rest of her sentence when Blake threw her arms around her neck and buried her face in the shorter girl’s shoulder.

After only a moment of hesitation Ruby gently returned the hug and patted Blake’s shoulder. “Blake?”

Blake’s breath hitched and her eyes burned and all she could do was squeeze tighter.

She heard the sound of the office door opening and Yang gasp.

“Whoa, hey what happened?”

Yang’s familiar hand lay on Blake’s back and she finally straightened up, rubbing her eyes and fighting back sniffles.

“I dunno! She just started crying and I -” Blake picked up a note of panic in Ruby’s voice.

“No, no, I’m fine, I’m fine. I -” Blake scrubbed hard at the tears on her cheeks, willing them to disappear. “Stupid hormones...”

“It’s not stupid.” Yang spoke firmly and tucked Blake against her side. “What’s wrong?”

Blake swallowed against the small lump in her throat and took a breath. “It’s just… my mom used to make this.”

Ruby sucked in a sharp breath and her lip wobbled. “Oh my gosh, Blake… I’m so sorry I didn’t know...”

Blake vehemently shook her head. “No, no, it’s not your fault. I’m just being silly...”

“No, you’re not.” Yang gently squeezed her shoulders.

“Maybe I should take it off the menu tonight...” Ruby said quietly.

“Don’t you dare.” Blake pulled her bowl of stew close in a protective gesture and took another stubborn spoonful. Closing her eyes and moaning.

Ruby perked up. “Is it good? Did I do it right?”

Blake took on an exaggerated ponderous expression, rubbing her chin like a philosopher. “Hmm… it could use a little more heat, but that’s just me.”

Ruby laughed, her melancholy chased away like rain clouds. “Well, if you want me to burn our customers tongues... Sienna at the farmer’s market said the same thing – something about us humans having different taste buds. Not too sure I believe her, but she’s the expert!”

Ruby hopped off the seat and bounced away to the kitchen, humming along to a song that blasted from her kitchen radio.

Blake watched her go until the smell wafting up from her bowl became too tempting and she dipped her spoon in several more times until it scraped the bottom. Blake dragged her spoon along the edges to get every last drop and heard a chuckle to her left, glancing over to see Yang watching her. Blake blushed and put her bowl back down.

But there was nothing but fondness in Yang’s eyes, not a hint of scorn or disgust.

“She’s really something, ain’t she?” Yang jerked her chin toward the kitchen door.

Blake followed her gaze. “She really is. That was almost as good as back on Menagerie.”

Yang took Blake’s empty bowl and spoon and stepped behind the bar to wash it in the sink. “She could be working at a five-star place anywhere she wanted. Even studied at a fancy culinary school up in Atlas.”

Blake leaned both elbows on the bar top. “So why isn’t she?”

Yang shrugged. “This is where she says she wants to be. This place is special… to both of us. But enough about me.” Yang placed the now clean bowl under her counter. “Tell me about your parents.”

“Why?”

Yang shrugged again, taking her dust rag out from her pocket to start wiping bottles. “Just curious. You don’t really talk about them very much.”

Blake hopped off her own stool to grab her own rag from the clean stack at the end of the bar. “Not much to say.”

“Do they know about the peanut?”

Blake looked up from swiping her rag across a table. “Peanut?”

Yang turned quickly back to her bottles, but she wasn’t fast enough to hide the bright blush across her freckled cheeks. “Uhh, that’s what I’ve been calling the kid. Since your appointment. Kinda looks like one, in the picture, you know.”

Yang looked back up from her too-intense inspection of a whiskey bottle. “I’ll stop, if you don’t like it…?”

“No, it’s okay. I like it.” Blake tilted her head in thought. “Peanut.”

“Let’s just hope they aren’t allergic or something.”

Blake continued with her preshift prep work in silence for another few minutes. Yang didn’t push further, but Blake could feel her eyes on her.

“They don’t.”

“Hm?” Yang paused in the action of scribbling numbers down on a small notebook.

Blake plopped the soiled rag into its designated bucket and sat down heavily on a bar stool. Putting her head in her hands. “They don’t know. I haven’t spoken to my parents in a long time. Not since I – I left.”

“Why not?” Yang’s tone softened, a gentle nudge instead of a demand.

Blake looked up through her hands at Yang, now leaning on the bar top to watch her. “We… we had a huge fight that night. They thought my decision to move to Vale with him – with _Adam_ – wasn’t a good one, and they tried to warn me about what kind of person he was. But I was so _blind_. He had his hooks in me _so_ _deep_...”

Blake sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a stack of napkins nudged within range, and she snatched one to noisily blow her nose. “I said such _terrible_ things to them. I don’t think they even want to see me...”

“Blake, I’m sure that’s not true.” A warm hand reached across the bar top to squeeze her forearm. “Have you thought about calling them up?”

“Of course I have. But -” Blake gave a full body shudder. “All I did was prove them right. Adam was a _terrible_ person and now...” Her head hung low, defeated. “They would be so _ashamed_ of me.”

Yang stayed quiet, but left her hand on Blake’s arm. Another soft squeeze, then “Hey. Come on, I wanna show you something.”

Blake blinked. Yang stepped around the bar and gestured, and Blake heaved up from the stool to follow.

Yang led her toward the back of the bar, to the fireplace (unlit for now) and the cozy armchairs. But she turned instead to face the wall beside the fire pit and crossed her arms loosely. Blake stood beside her, and followed Yang’s gaze to a nondescript picture frame, hung on the wall about eye level. The frame was simple, the same dark wood as the wall behind it. Blake glanced back at Yang, who nodded towards the portrait. Blake took a step closer.

It was a candid shot of a woman, who Blake initially thought was Ruby. But no, the shape of the brow and chin were slightly different, and the presence of laugh lines betrayed her age. She had been caught mid laugh, standing at a counter top frozen in the action of chopping some mystery vegetable. With an oddly familiar baseball cap perched on her head.

Underneath the portrait, a well tended plaque read:

_In Loving Memory of Summer Rose_

_A Light Like No Other_

“Is this…?”

“That’s Mom, yeah.”

Blake looked back over her shoulder at Yang. “She looks happy.”

“She was. The happiest person in the world, it seemed like at times. Being around her was like being around the physical embodiment of sunshine. All this?” Yang stepped closer to join Blake at the portrait but gestured at the entirety of the bar behind them. “This was her dream. Talked about it all the time, about how she was gonna buy this old building and create a place where everyone could feel welcome, a place where anyone could find a listening ear.”

Blake looked back at the portrait. “How old were you?”

Yang sucked in a quiet breath. Then breathed out.

“I was eight.”

“Yang...”

“Ruby had just turned six. I think she was a little too young to really understand what was going on. At least at first.”

“What happened?”

Yang breathed out slowly through her nose before answering, voice quiet but steady. “She went out one night to pick up dinner. Someone mugged her and left her in the street. All for the twenty lien in her pocket.”

“Oh Yang, I’m so sorry.”

Yang shrugged, but Blake caught a faint shudder in her shoulders. “Don’t be. It happened a long time ago.”

Yang abruptly spun on her heel and strode back to the bar. Blake let her eyes linger on the portrait of the smiling woman for a heartbeat longer, then followed.

“When I turned eighteen, Dad sat me down and handed me Mom’s life insurance check. Told me I could do what I wanted with it. So, Ruby went to culinary school and I went for my business degree.” Yang poured a glass of water and chugged it back in a few gulps. “There was enough left after graduation to buy this place, and five years later here we are.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, it’s quite a story, huh?” Yang’s grin was rueful. “Ruby says she feels like Mom’s still here with us, letting us know how proud she is. Sometimes, I’m even inclined to agree.”

Yang set her glass down and met Blake’s eyes. “I guess what I’m trying to say here is to… not take stuff for granted. I would give all this up in a heartbeat to have my mom back, even just for a moment.”

“...you think I should call my parents.”

Yang shrugged. “I think it’s up to you. It’s worth taking a chance, don’t you think?”

She walked away, catching Weiss emerging from the office to count out the bills for the registers. Blake stared at her back, lost in thought.


	11. Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well it's been a hot minute hasn't it? Sorry this took so dang long, as we get closer to the deadline my piece for the Bumblby Big Bang has taken over my life.  
> But I managed to squeeze in some time to get this done, and I certainly hope it's worth it for you guys!
> 
> And this fic now has ART BY ME! Go check it out on my blog!   
> https://dazzleyourmindseye.tumblr.com/post/626836364170854400/so-i-did-a-little-art-for-my-bmblb-fic-summers
> 
> As always, stay safe and healthy out there everyone! Thank you for reading!

“Here you are, Ms Calavera.”

Maria Calavera peered through her thick glasses down at the cup Blake placed before her and rustled her newspaper. She then looked up and blinked, silver eyes magnified to nearly three times their size. “Ah, thank you dear. And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Maria?”

“At least one more time, Ms Calavera.” Blake grinned at the older woman and set down a napkin with a small stirring spoon. “Would you like to order some food? You’re here a little later than your usual time.”

Maria turned the page of her newspaper and shook it out. Blake knew for a fact she’d read it at least five times tonight. “Hmm… what’s Ruby experimenting with these days?”

Blake slipped her notebook out of her pocket and clicked her pen. “She’s got a new pasta dish that I been getting good responses too. To much garlic in it for me though.”

Maria scoffed and plucked a sugar packet from the small wooden box beside the condiments. “My dear, I lost seventy percent of my sense of taste years ago, the more garlic the better. I’ll have a small plate of that.”

Blake chuckled as her pen scratched across the page. “I’ll tell her to lay it on thick then.”

Maria huffed and turned back to her newspaper. “And tell that girl that she doesn’t have to be such a stranger! Feels like I haven’t seen my grandniece in ages.”

Blake laughed out loud at that. “I sure will!”  
  
It had been nearly two weeks since Blake’s ultrasound, and that little black and white photo was now proudly taped to the corner of the computer monitor in the office. She’d gotten an enthusiastic congratulations from Ruby and a nod from Weiss.

Weiss. Blake had gotten to know the two sisters almost like her own, but the accountant was still a mystery. It seemed Weiss was a bit of an introvert, quiet and serious. Blake could count on one hand how many times she’d seen her smile, and there were times where she’d caught Weiss watching her. Not with any particular maliciousness (Blake had learned to recognize _those_ looks from a mile away) but simply… observing. Almost like she was looking for something.

But what she was looking for, Blake didn’t know.

The weather outside grew colder and grayer as winter truly set in, drawing more people into the warmth and laughter of Summer’s Place like moths to a flame. Rain made the sidewalks glow, and the gas fireplace at the back end of the bar was turned up high to warm the numerous bodies huddled near it.

Loud exclamations from the direction of the bar made her look up just in time to catch Yang spinning an empty mixing cup on one finger to the delight of patrons who then gave scattered applause when Yang tossed the cup in the air with one hand and caught it with the other.

Almost if she’d felt Blake’s eyes on her Yang looked in her direction and grinned widely. She bowed to her audience, but kept her face turned in Blake’s direction – as if she was bowing to Blake alone.

Blake felt her face warm up as she slid in front of the register to enter Maria’s order.

“Excuse me.” Weiss squeezed past her balancing a tray of full drinks. Weiss had been joining Blake out on the floor more often these days, but Blake suspected that had more to do with Yang trying to lighten her work load than the bigger crowds. She’d have been insulted if she wasn’t so appreciative of the extra help.

The ringing of the little bell above the door made her ears swivel towards the front and even from her place at the register she felt the cold air rush in. A group of young men piled in, shaking rain off their hair and laughing. A few patrons near the door gave them some good-natured shouts to close the door and they obliged, slamming the door shut and shoving each other toward an empty booth.

Blake allowed herself a little sigh and made to go greet them, when a pale arm shot out in front of her – blocking her path.

“Let me take this one.” Weiss balanced her tray expertly on one hand and Blake saw her eyeing the newcomers with – wariness? “They’ve caused some trouble in the past and they’re less likely to mess with me.”

Blake forcefully pushed down the anger that rolled in her gut. “I _think_ I can handle it.”

Weiss raised an eyebrow. “Can you?”

Instead of answering Blake pushed past her, dodging the tray in Weiss’s hand and _tr_ _ied_ not to make it look like she was marching off in a huff. Weiss let her pass and Blake felt that _analyzing_ gaze tingling on the back of her neck again but she refused to turn and look back.

“Evening, gentlemen.” Blake held her trusty notebook and pen at the ready and fixed a smile on her face. “Bit of a cold night isn’t it?”

One of the men – tall, broad shouldered, close cropped brown hair stuck up in the front – eyed her up and down and grinned. “Well hey there, gorgeous. Haven’t seen you around here before.”

Blake’s smile froze on her face and it took every bit of concentration to keep her ears from pinning flat against her hair. She gave herself a little mental kick for letting her damn pride reject Weiss’s offer. “Uh, yes. I just started about 2 months ago.”

“Well, I’ll make sure to go easy on ya.” he laughed loudly, looking back at his friends who all joined in.

Blake narrowed her eyes and just barely kept her lip from curling in a snarl. “I think I can manage.”

The group placed their drink orders and Blake walked back towards the bar a little too quickly, suddenly craving Yang’s presence. Yang had a small break in orders and looked up with a smile, but her smile faded when she caught sight of Blake’s expression.

“What’s wrong?” Yang frowned and did a quick scan of the room. Blake noticed her eyes freeze and narrow on a certain booth.

Blake squared her shoulders and breathed deeply. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

Yang’s eyebrows pinched together. Her gaze flicked over to the booth again, then back to Blake. Her mouth tightened, but she sighed and her shoulders slumped. “Cardin and his buddies are a bunch of idiots, but it’s been a while since I had to threaten to kick them out. Just let me know if they get too rowdy, alright? Cardin knows I won’t tolerate his bullshit.”

Blake nodded sharply and handed over their drink order. Then spun on her heel and marched over to the kitchen window where several orders sat awaiting her.

Over the next hour Cardin and his friends got louder and louder, but other than a few other comments here and there they seemed to be well-behaved – something Blake suspected had a lot to do with Yang watching them like a hawk from her place behind the bar.

What cheered her up considerably was the appearance of Jaune and Pyrrha, on their own this time and bundled up in thick winter coats.

Pyrrha pulled her damp red hair over her shoulder as soon as Jaune helped her out of her coat and wove it into a thick braid with deft fingers. “Brrr, it’s a cold one out there.”

Blake chuckled as she set their empty water glasses down on the tabletop and plucked a full pitcher from a nearby station. “Aren’t you from Argus? I heard it gets even colder up there.”

Pyrrha smirked. “Well, Vale’s been a bad influence on me. Keep the coffee coming.”

Blake liked the young couple, regular patrons either by themselves or with their friends. Jaune was a bit clueless but sweet, and clearly head over heels for his fiance and Pyrrha seemed to go out of her way to befriend Blake. She’d surprised Blake with her knowledge of a few lesser known faunus authors, and Blake learned that Pyrrha was taking online classes to earn her law degree. Jaune worked at his family’s grocery store, a local place called _Arc’s_ that also supplied the bar with most of their stock.

A sharp whistle cut off their conversation, and Blake turned to see Cardin snapping his fingers in her direction impatiently. Blake plastered on a smile and nodded to acknowledge him, then turned back to Jaune and Pyrrha with a frown. “Excuse me, let me just take your drink orders real quick and I’ll be right back. Having your usual tonight?”

Jaune frowned in Cardin’s direction. “Is he bothering you?”

Pyrrha leaned over on one arm to peer around Jaune, also frowning. “Do you need me to run over Cardin’s toes? I’m good at running over toes.”

That brought a small smile to Blake’s lips, but she shook her head. “I do appreciate the offer, but I can handle a couple of difficult customers.”

She quickly scribbled down their drink orders (a Shirley Temple for Pyrrha and a coke for Jaune) and took her time shuffling over to Cardin’s booth, taking extra care to check in on every patron along the way.

At last she stopped, eyeing the numerous empty glasses with wariness. “Anything I can do for you, gentlemen?”

“Yeah.” Cardin slurred and waved an empty glass in the air. “Go ahead and get us another refill, kitten.”

Blake barely kept her mouth from twisting into a snarl at that and instead plastered a generic smile on her face. “I’m sorry sir, but I believe you are too intoxicated and I’m making the decision to cut you off.”

The other three men around the table groaned, but Cardin’s eyes narrowed. He wobbled unsteadily to his feet. “I don’t think you heard me, sweetheart.”

Blake felt a sliver of a familiar fear tighten in her chest. Not too long ago she would have automatically flinched and cringed away, but something else hardened her spine. Something that spoke in a voice Blake hadn’t heard in years – **e** _ **nough**_ _,_ _ **no more**_ _._

Blake pinned her ears back and straightened to her full height. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware you had problems with your hearing – I’ll speak a little slower. I’m. Cutting. You. Off. _Sir_.”

One of the other men stood as well and reached out to grip Cardin’s arm. “Come on man, it’s not worth it. You know what Xiao Long said -”

Cardin shook him off. “ _Fuck_ Xiao Long. This little _bitch_ needs to learn a lesson.”

Blake saw it happen in slow motion – the taller man drew back his fist and swung it toward her face. Sloppily, clumsily. Blake ducked, but Cardin swung wide, overextending himself and tripping over his feet. He stumbled, once, twice. Then went down hard, knocking his chin on a nearby (thankfully _unoccupied_ ) table. He lay still, still conscious but clearly dazed.

Blake stared down at him, trying to will her racing heart to calm. She looked back up at the table and the frozen faces of Cardin’s companions. She cleared her throat and forced her voice to stay steady.

“So. Which one of you is picking up his tab?”

* * *

“And tell that _idiot_ when he wakes up he just earned himself a six-month ban. And if I see his face in here even _one day_ before that ban is up then it’ll be a _permanent_ _one!_ ”

Yang hissed her words as she glared down at Cardin’s sprawled form on the damp sidewalk where she’d dumped him. Russel and Sky bent down to heave his arms over their shoulders to start dragging him toward the open door of their cab. Russel nodded sheepishly. “Yes ma’am. It won’t happen again, ma’am.”

Yang bared her teeth. “It better not, or you’ll _all_ be sharing his ban.” She slammed the door in their faces a little too hard and the glass panel rattled in its frame.

Yang stood for a moment and stroked her hand down her face. She breathed harshly out her nose and raked back her bangs. Thirty minutes to closing and the bar had mostly cleared out, with only a few patrons lingering to nurse their last drink. She spotted Blake, standing near Pyrrha and Jaune’s table to close them out. Pyrrha reached out to hold her hand in a clear gesture of support and Jaune was nodding in response to her words. At this angle Yang couldn’t see Blake’s face, only the back of her head and her pointed ears, currently at a drooping angle.

She desperately wanted to check on Blake, to make sure she and the baby were alright, but duty called her back to the bar to take care of her last customers, so she settled for watching Blake from across the room – trying to read her face for any signs of distress.

Weiss sidled up to the register to close out the last of her tickets and hummed. “She’s certainly tougher than she looks.”

Yang glanced over at her. “What made you think she wasn’t?”

Weiss looked up from counting back change and raised an eyebrow. “Nothing.” Weiss slid the register drawer shut with her hip and an air of finality and nodded. “I like her.”

This made Yang’s own brows shoot to her hairline, then a smile spread across her face. “Oh? Is that a little thawing I see in the famous ice queen?”

Weiss glared, but it lacked its usual bite. “Quiet, you.”

Weiss glided off to the kitchen with her usual grace, no doubt to “help” Ruby with her closing chores. Yang snorted, then started plucking the last few empty glasses off the bartop and closing out the last tabs.

It took another half hour until Yang waved cheerfully at the last patron and flipped the sign on the inside of the door to _Closed._ She turned to see Blake carefully easing into an empty chair with a grimace and Yang tried not to make it look like she was fretting as she hurried over. “Are you alright?”

Blake looked up at her and blinked. “Yeah, I’m alright.” She slid her shoe off gingerly and rubbed her socked foot. “Swollen ankles, you know.”

“Oh, right.” Yang rubbed the back of her neck and slid down into the chair across from Blake. “And is everything okay? You know, with the baby?”

Blake’s hand moved to cup the swell of her lower belly, still not quite noticeable behind her baggy shirt if you weren’t looking for it. It was more prominent when she was seated, Yang noted. She watched Blake stroke her hand across the swell. “Yes, I think so. Cardin didn’t even come close with that clumsy swing.”

Yang frowned and glared back at the door, even though the man in question was most likely far away by now. “Ugh, I’m sorry about that idiot. I shoulda told you to cut him off way earlier than that -”

“Yang.” Blake cut her off. “I told you, I can deal with creeps like him.” She straightened in her seat and smirked. “But I gotta admit, seeing him go down like that did a lot to cheer me up.”

Yang returned her smirk with one of her own. “You handled that very well. Even Weiss approves.”

Blake raised her eyebrows “Really? I was starting to think she didn’t like me...”

Yang’s smile faded just a little bit. “Weiss is… just a little tough on the outside. She’s protective of me and Ruby, and for valid reasons. She’s kind of like you – a walk-in off the street, when Rubes and I first started this place. She needed a job and we needed someone to help with finances.” Yang shrugged. “The rest isn’t really my story to tell.”

Blake looked at her in quiet contemplation, then nodded. “Alright.”

Yang cleared her throat once. “Um, Blake? Would it be okay with you if I drove you home?”

Blake frowned slightly. “You don’t have to...”

“I know. I don’t think Cardin or his cronies would try anything, but it would make me feel better if I knew you got home safe tonight.” Yang stood from her seat and brushed non-existent wrinkles out of her jeans. She held out a hand, palm up. An offering. “What do you say?”

Blake regarded her open hand for a single heartbeat, an unreadable look in her eyes. Then her face softened, just the slightest bit. “Okay.”

* * *

Blake tugged Yang’s jacket closer, soft fleece and the faint smell of woodsmoke tickled her nose. The heat of Yang’s skin and the jacket chased away the worst of the cold and she unashamedly squeezed her arms tighter around Yang’s waist. She thought she heard the sound of Yang’s chuckle over the icy air and the roar of a motorcycle engine, but it was lost to the wind somewhere in the miles behind them.

The rain had let up temporarily, but the swollen dark clouds above them – barely visible in the dark night sky – threatened to continue the deluge at any moment. Blake breathed a sigh of relief when they turned onto her street and she caught sight of Ilia’s apartment – she’d never ridden a motorcycle in the rain but didn’t feel inclined to change that, no matter how pleasant the company.

Yang helped her dismount and declined Blake’s offer to return her jacket with a shake of her head. “Keep it. I run hot anyways and it’s freezing.”

As promised icy raindrops started to patter atop their heads and Blake couldn’t help a laugh as they rushed together for the shelter of the awning, hand in hand.

After their chuckles died down, Blake found herself strangely reluctant to enter the building, knowing that it would bring this moment to an end. A moment when she could just admire the way raindrops clung to Yang’s eyelashes and glistened like diamonds on her skin and the way laughter still bubbled up in her chest – making her feel like if she didn’t find some way to anchor herself she’d float away.

Yang seemed to notice the change in the air and she met Blake’s eyes, her own half-lidded. Blake caught her eyes flick downward, then back up.

If asked Blake couldn’t say who leaned in first, but suddenly Yang’s face was a lost closer. Her warm breath brushed over Blake’s lips, feather light. Yang hesitated there, frozen.

A silent question in her eyes.

A question Blake answered by closing the distance between them.

Yang tasted like rain, Blake decided. Rain and warmth.


	12. Easy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BAAAAAAACK BABY
> 
> I know it's been a while but this story is far from abandoned! Now that the Bumbleby Big Bang is over this fic is going to be getting a more regular and frequent posting schedule, as well as my other ongoing stories - plus I'm super excited for some upcoming projects I've got planned, so thank you all for sticking with me so far and enjoying my work! 
> 
> Here is the long awaited next chapter of Summer's Place, and if you want updates or just want to come yell at me, my tumblr can be found at this link below:  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dazzleyourmindseye
> 
> Happy reading, and I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy out there!

Blake stared down at the screen of her scroll. She’d saved the number to her father’s office on Menagerie weeks ago, but had so far done nothing but memorize it – tracing the numbers with her eyes over and over again. Her stomach churned when she thought about it sitting untouched in her contacts for that long, nausea strong enough to trigger a few more sick episodes that she couldn’t blame entirely on the baby.

Scenario after scenario played on repeat in her head, from heartfelt reunions to being abruptly disowned.

_If they haven’t already done that, after what you said to them_ a venomous voice whispered in her mind. Blake flinched.

“Hey, you doing okay?”

Yang’s voice from the driver’s seat made Blake jump a little. She looked up from her scroll to see they were stopped at a red light, and Yang was watching her with concern.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” Blake slid her scroll closed and stuck it deep in her pocket, hopefully deep enough to keep it from burning a hole in her leg.

Yang looked at her for a bit longer, but the light ahead flicked to green and she had to turn back to the road. “And how’s Peanut?”

Blake couldn’t help a fond roll of her eyes and her hand went to her stomach. “Good, I think. Still not sure about their nickname, though.”

Yang’s grin was bright as the sun and Blake found herself struck once again by how pretty she was. With the weak autumn day sunlight streaming through the van windows and highlighting the freckles on her nose, it was easy to forget they weren’t exactly alone.

“Awww, _Peanut_?! That’s the cutest thing _ever_!”

Ruby’s high pitched squeal from the backseat made Blake cringe, and Yang threw a half-hearted glare in the rear-view mirror at her sister. “There’s still time to turn around and leave you at the bar with Weiss, you know.”

Ruby leaned forward to prop her elbows on the back of Blake’s seat, smirking. “Uh huh, then you’d just end up getting lost. I know what your sense of direction is like.”

Yang opened her mouth to retort, but suddenly slammed her palm on the horn and made a rude gesture at the car in front of them. “Good gods, use your damn turn signal! Did you get your license out of a fucking cereal box?!”

Ruby made an exaggerated gasp. “Yang! Watch your language, there’s a child in the car!”

Yang twisted her mouth and glared at the offending vehicle. “Peanut can’t hear me.” Then she blinked, and glanced sideways at Blake. “Um, can they?”

Blake smirked slightly. “No, they won’t start hearing things until about eighteen weeks, according to Dr Scarlatina. You’ve still got some time.”

Yang’s smile had a bit of a cheeky edge to it. “Well, that’s a fucking relief.”

Ruby’s hand shot out from the back seat to lightly whap her sister on the back of her head. “ _Yaaaang_. It’s the principle of the thing!”

Yang reached back blindly to try and return Ruby’s swat, but Ruby nimbly dodged Yang’s wild swipes. “Blake! You gonna help me out here?”

Blake watched the sisters squabble with growing amusement. “Ruby’s got a point, Yang. You’ve got barely two weeks of swearing left, you might want to start working on reigning it in now.”

Yang slumped her shoulders and huffed in an exaggerated playful fashion. “Okay, fiiiine. Mama’s orders.”

Blake turned her head to look out at the buildings around them to hide the redness of her cheeks. It was still strange to think that she’d be a mom in just a few short months. Her hand automatically traced circles through her light sweater. Her belly, now – at sixteen weeks – prominent and near impossible to hide without baggy clothes on her slim figure.

_Your baby is the size of an avocado!_ her book had proudly proclaimed. She’d shyly inquired at her last appointment with Dr Scarlatina when she might start feeling movement, and the doctor had smiled and said that it might be a little early for movement, but to keep a lookout for it.

“It might feel like small popping or swishing, or even like bubbles in your lower belly.” The doctor said, her keyboard clicking away in the quiet exam room. “It’s certainly going to be a much longer time before movement can be felt from the outside, but _you_ could start feeling movement as early as tomorrow. But since this is your first pregnancy, it could be as late as twenty weeks. So don’t stress if you don’t feel anything just yet.”

At this Dr Scarlatina slid another folder of papers across the counter top with a smile. “According to your ultrasounds, your little one is pretty active already so I’m not concerned. Just keep taking your vitamins, everything looks good.”

“Alright we’re here!” Yang’s cheerful voice brought Blake back into the present and she peered out the window.

The parking lot was already half full with vans and trucks and people offloading various baskets of fresh produce and handmade crafts to sell. This farmer’s market was clearly smaller than the one uptown, and their large white van got some odd looks when they pulled into the parking lot.

“Alright, got the grocery list?” Yang slid the key out of the ignition and shoved it into her pocket.

“Got it.” Blake held up the folded paper and lightly waved it back and forth.

“Alright, cool. First we go talk to Sienna, then pick up the stuff for tomorrow night. Got it?”

“Got it.” Ruby and Blake said in sync.

Yang twisted to peer a little harder at Ruby. “You know what you need? We don’t have time to linger, I mean it.”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Yeah Yang, I know.”

“Uh huh. I’ve heard that before.”

Ruby didn’t respond, but stuck her tongue out and slid open the door to hop out onto the parking lot.

Blake fumbled with her seatbelt a bit, then went to open the door when the handle disappeared out from under her hand and Yang stood in its place, a wide grin on her face.

“After you, miss.” Yang held out her hand for Blake to take it, an offering.

Blake considered the hand, then returned the smile and let Yang help her out of the car. “Thank you.”

Yang’s smile softened, and her fingers curled around Blake’s. “You’re welcome.”

Something between them had shifted since that night they kissed in the rain, but neither of them had voiced it. Small touches when passing each other at work, warm smiles from across the room. Yang had taken over the duty of escorting Blake home every night (an arrangement that Ilia hadn’t objected to) and they exchanged a warm hug at the door of the apartment building and wished each other goodnight.

But Yang hadn’t kissed her again.

Blake sometimes caught a look in her eyes in those moments, the same look she’d had before that moment in the rain. But she always pulled back, maybe kiss Blake’s forehead or cheek, wish her a quiet goodnight, then watch as she entered the building without being struck by a meteor, or whatever it was she was looking out for.

And it was driving Blake _insane._

Ruby led them through the market with the air of a ship captain, sometimes hopping in place to see above the heads of the crowd. Blake and Yang were content to follow behind at a more leisurely pace, hands still entwined together and swinging between them.

At first they’d gotten some odd looks from the mostly-faunus market shoppers, but Blake suspected her presence had something to do with the fact none of those looks were hostile. She’d even teased Yang about it the other day, back at the bar when Yang asked her if she wanted to come.

“ _Oh? Is it because I happen to be a faunus?” Blake had smirked at a suddenly flustered Yang._

“ _What? No, of course not! I just thought, maybe, we could go get some breakfast together afterward or something?” Yang’s blush grew brighter. “Unless you want to stay and help Weiss with the paperwork…?”_

“ _ **No.** ” _

_Blake smothered a laugh at Weiss’s flat answer from the depths of the back office behind a teetering stack of tax forms._

_The woman in question peered out from behind her paperwork with a glare. Blake had learned early on that Weiss was **touchy** at best about her paperwork, and everyone else just let her have her space. For good reason._

So here she was, spending her Sunday morning at the farmer’s market with Yang, and it was surprisingly pleasant. The weather wasn’t too chilly, Yang’s hand was entwined in hers, and the hot tea Yang had bought her as an apology for the early hour had done a good job of warming her up.

Ruby’s shout turned them toward a semi enclosed and richly decorated tent that they nearly walked right past, and Ruby ducked gleefully inside when they approached.

Inside the tent the air was considerably warmer and heavy with the scent of spices.

“Ah, little red. I thought you might be back.”

Sienna Khan stood behind a table draped with red cloth and covered in assorted bottles and boxes. Her golden yellow eyes cut sharply to Yang, and narrowed just slightly. “And you brought friends…?”

“Sienna hi! This is my sister, the one I told you about!” Ruby bounced on her heels and eyed the boxes on the table. “Ooh, is that the new shipment?”

Sienna finally looked away and back to Ruby. Her smile had an endearing edge to it. “Why yes it is. I’ve got a few samples, if you’d like to try?”

Ruby eagerly nodded.

Yang softly cleared her throat and stepped forward to hold her hand out. “It’s very nice to finally meet you, ma’am. I’m Yang Xiao Long, co-owner of Summer’s Place and Ruby’s older sister.”

Sienna tilted her head and one of her striped ears twitched, but she returned Yang’s greeting, taking her hand for a shake. “I’ve heard of it. Haven’t been myself, but I have friends in the business.”

Yang nodded and released her hand. “Well, you know my sister has been buying from you for a while now, but I’ve come to ask if you’d be interested in a more regular arrangement?”

Sienna’s yellow eyes flicked to Blake, as if noticing her for the first time, then back to Yang. She leaned her chin on a closed fist and blinked slowly. Blake had a sudden image of a large cat crouching to pounce. “I’m listening.”

Sienna proved to be quite a shrewd business woman, and she and Yang haggled for nearly an hour (with Ruby occasionally cutting in) before finally settling on a deal. Ruby left for the van with a bounce in her step and a large box of spices and herbs cradled in her arms like a priceless treasure chest.

Sienna turned back to them both after watching Ruby go. “I’m not signing anything permanent for at least thirty days, but I think we have an arrangement.”

She and Yang shook hands again. Yang nodded like she was tilting the brim of an imaginary hat. “Of course ma’am, it was a pleasure doing business with you.”

Sienna snorted, the first non-professional expression she’d made in their presence. “You’re certainly respectful – for a human. You’d be the first I’ve made a deal like this with, and that’s quite an accomplishment, I assure you.”

Sienna finally turned her full attention to Blake, this time with a noticeably warmer smile. “I apologize my dear for being rude, but business comes before pleasure I’m afraid.”

Blake blinked and returned her smile. “Oh, it’s quite alright. I knew what I was getting into.” With this she playfully shoved Yang’s shoulder with hers.

Yang grinned sheepishly. “Sorry babe, I just kinda got tunnel vision.”

Sienna arched an eyebrow slightly. “Forgive me, but you seem familiar to me. Do you happen to have family back on Menagerie, by any chance?”

Blake’s expression froze on her face and scroll in her pocket suddenly felt like a lump of lead. “I – no. I haven’t lived there since I was a kid.”

Sienna narrowed her eyes and Blake had a sudden flashback to being scolded by her primary school teacher for hiding an open book in class. “Hmm, perhaps I was mistaken.”

Blake’s gut still churned as they left the tent back out into the market. The crowd had gotten larger as the morning wore on, and Blake found herself almost subconsciously pressing closer to Yang’s warm side.

Yang slipped her arm around Blake’s waist. “You doing alright?”

Blake leaned her head briefly on Yang’s shoulder as they making their way back to the car. “I think so.”

Yang hummed. “Thinking about your parents?”

Blake considered deflecting, but her shoulders slumped and she sighed. Yang knew her too well. “Yeah.”

Yang didn’t respond, but the squeeze she gave Blake said a lot more than words could.

They walked in silence for a bit further, keeping an eye out for Ruby’s distinctive red hair, before Yang tugged her to a slower pace. “Hey, I think I saw a hot chocolate stand over here. I’ll buy.”

Ruby only complained at how slow they were for few minutes before she was mollified with a bribe of hot chocolate.

“With extra whipped cream just like you like it.” Yang had said. Blake thought “extra” was a bit of an understatement to describe the blob of whipped cream oozing out of the lid’s opening like sugary lava out of a paper volcano, but she chose not to comment on the crazy look in Ruby’s eyes when she made grabby hands at the hot drink.

They plunged back in to complete the shopping and it was nearly past midday when they finally loaded everything back into the van. The strange looks they were getting from the vendors vanished quickly when they saw how much Yang and Ruby were buying, and they got nothing but huge grins and cheerful waves when they left with arms full of fresh produce.

Back in the van, Blake tuned out Yang and Ruby’s familiar excited chatter and pulled out her scroll again. Chief Belladonna’s office number glared back at her from her contacts list – just like it had the last dozen times she had done this, trying to work up the courage to just press that dial button and talk to her father for the first time in nearly ten years.

Blake let her head fall back against the seat and closed her eyes as they pulled out of the parking lot.

This wasn’t going to be easy, but when was the last time anything in her life had been easy?


	13. Push

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooooo all you beautiful people! Despite the absolute insanity going on in the world right now, your friendly neighborhood bisexual has delivered! 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it's a rollercoaster. Once again if you wanna come yell at me go visit my tumblr haha.
> 
> I appreciate every last one of you, and I hope you all are staying safe and healthy out there in these crazy times.

If asked why she preferred tea over really anything else, Blake wouldn’t have a straight answer. The few times Ilia had asked before she finally gave up Blake would give her a different response every time.

_I like the taste._

_The smell is familiar and comforting._

_It’s warm._

Blake carefully dunked her tea bag, once, twice, three times. Then pulled it out and tossed it into the waste bin beside the sink. A dash of honey and it was done. Blake wrapped her hands around her mug and drifted into the living room, her place of refuge for the last several months.

In spite of the calm her familiar tea ritual brought her, her eyes were immediately drawn to the scroll, sitting innocently on the coffee table like it didn’t have the power to upend her entire carefully reconstructed world and send it tumbling down like a child’s block tower.

She took a slow sip of her tea and eyed the scroll as she sat down slowly on the couch. Yang’s earlier words rang in her head, dropping her off after their morning at the farmer’s market. Blake quietly spoke her intentions, and Yang gave her a serious nod.

“ _I understand that you wanna do this by yourself, but you can call me anytime if you need someone to talk to.”_

The pure honesty in Yang’s words and her sincerity were comforting to Blake in the moment, but now, here, alone in Ilia’s tiny apartment with all of her meager possessions surrounding the couch she’d been living on for the past four and a half months, suddenly the prospect of facing the demons she thought she’d left behind seemed as daunting as a looming mountain.

Blake blew out a breath slowly, watching the steam from her tea swirl, before straightening in her seat and mentally gritting her teeth.

_The faster you do this the faster it’ll be over. Like ripping off a bandaid._

Blake studiously ignored how her hand was shaking as she carefully set her mug down on the coffee table (hearing the ghost of Ilia’s insistence that she use a coaster and dutifully sliding one over) and picked up the scroll, carefully, like it was made of the most fragile glass. Or an angry venomous snake, either one.

It was almost robotic, the sliding of her finger across the screen to open her contacts, touching the name near the top of the list. A small window popped up, one last option to reject the call and ignore it for another day, but Blake made herself click the green button, accepting her fate.

Blake held the scroll to her ear. One ring, two, three…

A click. “Chief Belladonna’s office? How can I help you?”

The tight knot in her chest loosened a small amount. The pleasant female voice was unfamiliar.

“Uhh… yes hello. Is… Chief Belladonna in today?”

“I’m afraid not.” The voice continued, professional and polite. “He’s out of the office for the rest of the day to celebrate his anniversary with his wife.”

“Oh.” That _was_ today, wasn’t it?

A brief pause. “I can take a message, if you like?”

“… yes? I mean, yes I would like that.”

Another pause. “And may I ask what you’d like your message to be?”

“Um… just tell the chief that… it’s Blake. And… I’m sorry.”

If the name was familiar to the woman on the other end, she didn’t show it and her polite professionalism didn’t waver. “Alright, I will pass that message along. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“...no. No that’s it. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll pass your message along to the chief as soon as possible.” A click, then dial tone.

Blake set the scroll back down on the coffee table with partially numb fingers.

She found herself swallowing harshly against a sudden lump in her throat, and the image of her now quiet scroll began to blur and shake, narrowing into a pinprick like she was looking through a narrow tunnel.

Blake closed her eyes and took in several deep breaths, hands curled into fists in her knees. The careful breaths – counted silently in her head – helped her vision grow slightly clearer, and the sight of the scroll sitting innocently on the coffee table grew sharper.

“ _Call me anytime if you need someone to talk to.”_

Blake frowned, but the shaking in her hands and the knot in her chest and the fluttering in her belly compelled her to reach for the scroll again.

* * *

“I’m telling you, if he doesn’t wanna pay full price than he can get the reduced service.”

Ruby frowned. “But it’s already such a small catering job anyway. Reducing it would make it almost non-existent.”

Yang shrugged. “The man is demanding a _fifty-percent_ discount because _he_ didn’t think to order enough napkins. He’s lucky we’re still servicing him at all, after how he spoke to you on the phone.”

Ruby’s frown didn’t go away, but Yang spotted a spark of anger in her eyes. “Hmm, you might be right. He is lucky he wasn’t here in person. I’d a given him some _choice words_ about treating people with _respect._ ”

Yang snorted, and in an effort to lighten the mood ruffled the tuft of hair that stuck up at the top of Ruby’s temple. “Sure you would have, pipsqueak. I think we’d have better luck letting Weiss lay into him.”

Ruby ducked out from under Yang’s hand, pouting. “But Weiss is _shorter_ than me.”

“Uh huh. And about five times as ferocious.”

“I can be _ferocious!_ ” Ruby did her best to arrange her face into what she thought was a fierce expression.

“No you can’t.” Weiss said dryly as she exited the office to join them at the bartop. “And what’s this about me being _shorter_ than you?”

Ruby swiveled in her seat to grin sheepishly at Weiss. “Uh, we were just talking about you being… umm… small but mighty?”

Weiss turned the full power of her glare on her girlfriend, who sank into her seat.

“Ah come one, Weiss. You aren’t very gifted in the height department...” Yang shrugged, pulling out her scroll to flip absentmindedly through her emails.

Weiss switched her glare to Yang, but the bartender just shrugged and threw in a cheeky wink, having long grown immune to Weiss’s icy stares.

Weiss opened her mouth, probably to say something dry and sarcastic, but the scroll in Yang’s hand lit up, vibrating with a suddenness that made Yang jump. Blake’s shy smile lit up the screen, a picture Yang had snapped on her first night at the bar specifically for her contact.

Yang’s brow furrowed, but she answered without hesitation. “Blake?”

“Yang?”

Blake’s voice came out in a gasp, shaky and rough. The bottom dropped out of Yang’s stomach.

“Blake? Blake are you okay?”

“I – I’m not sure. Can you come over?”

“… of course.”

Yang glanced up at Weiss and Ruby. Weiss nodded once. “Go.”

She tried not to let her mind instantly spiral into worst case scenarios, but soon enough not even the familiar thrill of Bumblebee rumbling beneath her could keep the images flashing through her head. Some were memories – the cop at the door that rainy night, the phone call from a frantic Nora that something bad had happened and Pyrrha was in the hospital...

Yang blinked and suddenly she was driving down Blake’s street, the apartment complex coming into view. She practically skidded to a stop and the wheels squealed their disapproval. She tore her helmet off, just barely remembering to yank the keys from the ignition before jogging to the lobby doors.

She pulled the scroll out of her pocket, shooting a quick text.

_Hey. I’m here. Can U buzz me in?_

Yang stared down at the screen, the pit in her stomach yawning ever wider, until a single message popped up in response.

_Yes._

A few moments passed, until a beep accompanied by a small green light on the board beside the door. Yang quickly noted the number beside the light and pulled the door open. Struggling to make it look like she wasn’t running, Yang forced herself to slow. Watching the light for the elevator slowly tick down to the bottom floor was maddening, but the doors finally rattled open and Yang stepped inside, trying to calm her restless energy by rocking back and forth on her heels. Frantic was the last thing that Blake needed right now.

A ding, the doors slid open and Yang stepped out, slightly calmer this time. Unit numbers flashed by until she came to the number she’d memorized beside the light, and rapped her knuckles on the door.

Silence.

“Blake? Blake are you there? It’s me. Can you let me in?”

Another beat of silence. Then, a muffled voice.

“It’s open.”

The knob turned easily under her hand, and she creaked the door open.

Ilia’s apartment was small, but neat. A hallway off the left most likely leading to the bedroom and bathroom, and a seating area to the right.

“Blake?” Yang called, keeping her voice low.

“In here.” To the right.

Blake sat on the couch, knees curled up to her chest and a colorful blanket draped over her shoulders. She didn’t look up at Yang, instead staring blankly at her scroll on the coffee table.

A familiar lump rose up in Yang’s throat. “Hey, are you okay?”

Blake very faintly shook her head.

Yang approached her cautiously and gingerly sat down on the couch beside Blake. Very slowly, like Blake could bolt at any moment, Yang reached out and took her hand.

“Okay. Blake? If you can hear me go ahead and squeeze my hand.”

A squeeze.

“Good. Now I want you to listen to my voice okay? Feel my hand, squeeze if you need to.”

Another squeeze. A shaky breath, then another.

“Come back to me, Blake.”

Another squeeze and a sigh. Blake’s shoulders slowly lowered from their hunched posture and relaxed. Yang started humming a tune under her breath. Blake tilted slightly in her seat until her head was leaning on Yang’s shoulder.

“Yang?”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

Blake breathed in, then out. “I’m sorry.”

Yang shook her head. “Don’t be.”

Blake pressed slightly closer. “I don’t know what happened.”

Yang hummed. “You were disassociating, I think. Happens to me too, sometimes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. When I think about Mom.”

“Oh.”

They sat in comfortable silence for several minutes. Yang glanced at the scroll on the coffee table. “What happened?”

Blake shifted, pulling her head away. Yang instantly missed her.

“I… I called my dad.”

Yang’s throat tightened. “Yeah?”

Blake frowned. “He… he wasn’t there. I left a message with his secretary.”

“I see.”

Another beat of silence. Then Blake started talking.

“I ran away when I was barely seventeen. He… Adam… had convinced me that Mom and Dad weren’t doing enough, that they were cowards. They had started a faunus civil rights movement, you see, and Dad wanted to disband it and start over. Our… public image wasn’t great, because some felt like the movement was too passive and wanted to be more... aggressive.”

Blake narrowed her eyes. “Adam was… very persuasive. Me and Dad got into a bad argument. We both said some things we didn’t mean, things that were purely spiteful.”

Blake buried her face in her knees. “I… I thought they hated me. So Adam convinced me to run away, to the mainland where we could be what we wanted to be. Be free.”

Yang watched the Blake’s ears pin back against her head.

“I haven’t spoken to them since that night.”

Yang carefully slipped her arm around Blake’s waist, giving her room to pull away. When Blake didn’t move, Yang pulled her closer. Blake returned to her previous position against Yang’s shoulder. “Blake you were _seventeen_. You were a _kid_. We all say and do dumb shit when we’re kids. I know I have.”

“Really? You?”

“Yep.” Yang huffed a small laugh. “I was – let’s just say running with a bad crowd as a teenager. Got into some trouble. Then Pyrrha had her accident and… it kinda shook me. Reminded me that the people I care about could just disappear one day.”

She felt Blake shudder against her side.

“Thanks. For coming over.” Blake spoke in low tones. “For being here.”

“Of course. I care about you Blake.” Yang couldn’t resist and pressed a kiss into Blake’s hair.

Blake sniffled. “Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you care? Why me?” Yang’s heart broke at the small, defeated tone in Blake’s voice.

“Blake...” Yang pulled back slightly. Blake wasn’t looking at her, instead looking down at her twisting hands. Yang gently tilted her chin up with a single finger. “I care because you’re the most extraordinary person I’ve ever met. I care because it feels like I’ve known you for a lifetime. I care because I admire your strength and courage.”

Blake met her gaze with watery eyes. “You think I’m strong?”

Yang smiled softly. “The strongest woman in the world.”

Blake finally smiled, and Yang did a mental celebratory dance. Yang leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

Blake leaned closer and nuzzled her face into Yang’s neck, and Yang pulled her close – marveling at how perfectly she fit.

They sat together for a few more moments, then Blake gave a soft gasp and pulled away. Her hand shot to splay across her belly.

“What is it?” Yang said, alarmed.

“I… I think the baby is kicking.” Blake almost whispered, as if afraid that speaking too loud was blasphemy.

“Whoa, really?” said Yang. “What… what does it feel like?”

Blake wrinkled her nose. Yang had to force herself not to clutch at her heart at the cuteness of the gesture.

“It feels… like bubbles. Or maybe a tapping.” Blake moved her hand to tap lightly on the side of her belly. “Right here.” Blake laughed wetly. “And I thought it was just nerves.”

“Wow.” Yang grinned. “Talkin’ to your mama already, Peanut?”

Blake chuckled and started drawing small circles through her shirt with a fingertip.

“Hey.” Yang said, perking up. “What do you say we go get ice cream? Ice cream makes everything better.”

Blake smirked slightly. “You just want ice cream.”

Yang shrugged and made to get up, grinning. “Maybe. Do my motivations matter? I mean, it’s ice cream.”

“Wait.”

Yang paused mid motion. She turned to look at Blake, who avoided her gaze and chewed her lip. “There’s… something I want to do first.”

Slowly, achingly slowly, Blake took Yang’s face in her soft hands. Yang felt like a deer frozen in bright lights as Blake leaned forward and pressed her warm lips to Yangs.

Yang had been dreaming about kissing Blake ever since that night in the rain. Almost against her will she melted into the kiss, just barely tasting Blake on her tongue.

The moment was far too short in Yang’s opinion. Blake pulled away before their kiss got deeper, and she stared into Yang’s eyes. “Was that okay?”

Yang let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “I – yeah. Yeah that was more than okay.”

But the furrow between Blake’s eyes didn’t smooth over. “It’s just… you haven’t kissed me since that night. And I thought… maybe you’d regretted it.”

“No way. I couldn’t regret you.” Yang mirrored Blake’s hands, cradling her face to lean their foreheads together. “It’s just… well I’m technically your boss. I’m sure there’s some… ethical issues there.”

Blake quietly scoffed. “You could always fire me, if that would take the edge off.”

Yang pouted. “And not be able to see your face every day? Talk about a bummer.”

“I’m kidding.” Blake wound her arms around Yang’s neck and boldly pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “That would be a bummer, wouldn’t it?”

_Oh, dear gods._ Yang mentally swore. But Blake pulled away and there was that damn smirk again. “Now, I believe you promised us ice cream?”


End file.
